Solace
by The Dark Knight's Princess
Summary: Kim Greylek is not particularly a woman who is keen on expressing her emotions; except when it comes to the seemingly most important thing in her life. What happens when her perfect life is suddenly turned upside down and she finds herself finding comfort in the one person that she never thought she would? A comfort not even a best friend can offer? CM Xover: Kimily with AC pair
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: As per usual, don't worry, I'm not abandoning anything, but I couldn't sleep and I just ended up typing this. Like is said when I first pitched the idea for this story, there will be Casandra in here because I simply cannot turn away from that. I just had no room in the summer :-P. I've also included what you guys have dubbed 'Greymichael' another creation of mine that I've fallen in love with, but this is officially a Kimily story. I love both pairings and I felt like Kim needed a story damnit, hehehe. Things will make more sense once you start reading I promise. **

**I hope you guys really do take the time to read this story seeing as quite a few of you said you would be interested if I actually wrote it, so here it is. It's different, but if you haven't noticed yet, i like different and I hope you will give it a shot. E****njoy the first ever Kimily story you guys!**

**Disclaimer: Any Law and Order, or Criminal Minds character in this story does not belong to me. They belong their writers and NBC and CBS respectively. **

Kim Greylek sighs rather heavily as her heels clack rhythmically against the hardwood floors of the DA's office. She adjusts the ridiculous stack of files in her arms all the while murmuring to herself about extensive workloads, so little time to do it, and anything else she can find to complain about. On more than one occasion she has contemplated complaining to her boss about her workload, but she just can't bring herself to do so considering she's romantically involved with said boss.

She and Abigail 'Abbie' Carmichael have been dating for just over a year and a half now, and though it may not show on her face quite often, Kim really couldn't be happier. A school girl like bashful smile, in all its rarity, spreads across her face when she thinks about her relationship with the southern native. Her friends would concur when given the statement that Kim hardly ever shows any type of emotion. Emotions are just not particularly her strong suit. For as long as she has known her two best friends, her emotions, or better yet, lack thereof, have become something they are quite accustomed to. According to Alexandra Cabot, Kim has always been stone faced, quiet, a tad bit of bland with a side dish of boring and a large dash of sarcastic.

Except when it comes to Abbie.

As predicted, the tiniest of grins spreads across her face as her mind travels back to the thoughts of her lover. Love. Now that was a word that Kim once though she would never ever hear spoken to her. Sure she heard it from her parents and her plethora of annoying siblings, but sentimental, unconditional love is a different type of love that she feels when she's with Abbie. It's a type of love that she can't even begin to explain in words; verbally or mentally. She feels cared for, protected, and wanted, amongst numerous other things that can't even be listed. It's just sometimes so many feelings at once can begin to become a little overwhelming.

Kim is so heavily focused on day dreaming and staring down at the stack of folders in her arms that she completely forgets to look where she's going and runs full on into another person. She winces when she hears the other person swear loudly at the contact, but she relaxes immediately when she recognizes the owner's voice accompanied by their glaring face. "Oh, it's just you. Sorry about that."

Alexandra Cabot's scowl deepens as she holds up her now empty Starbucks cup and motions her hands down towards her newly coffee stained white blouse. "I just bought this shirt…" she mumbles indignantly, her ears glowing a bright, aggravated red when she sees the feint amused grin on her friend's face. "Only someone like you could find the utmost amount of joy in my misery. You should really get your head out of the clouds and look where you're going."

"Well in my defense, while I was distracted, you could have looked where you were going as well." Kim responds with a smug grin, a small laugh leaving her lips when she hears the taller woman huff greatly in response. "I'm just messing with you, Al. I'll buy you a new shirt and I'll pay for the dry cleaning of that one."

"Fair enough." Alex replies with a shrug before she tilts her head in a minimal amount of concern. "How're you holding up? Heard you've got quite the busy day ahead of you."

Kim sighs heavily as she subtly holds up the stack of folders nestled gently in her arms. "You have no idea. Abbie took the day off today and Serena called in sick this morning so I'm practically by myself for the rest of the day. I don't know how I'm going to get anything done today. I feel like I'm trying to drive a car with one wheel. It'll be a sheer miracle if I make it through the day."

Alex chuckles quietly at this before she shakes her head. "I don't particularly have that much work to do today. I can help you out if you would like? I'd commission Casey to help as well but she's stuck in court all day, so I'm afraid I'm what you get. Unless you'd like to go ask Paxton for assistance."

"No, I think I'm quite alright without having to be within a two feet radius of that woman."

"Aw, is Kimmy scared of Big Bad Sonya?"

"No. Big Bad Sonya just makes me uncomfortable. I bet she eats thumb tacks and hammer nails for breakfast."

"You tend to exaggerate when you're stressed." Alex replies with a tiny chuckle and a shake of her head. "How are things at home?"

Kim's eyes light up briefly before they return to their original default hue. "Things are pretty great at home. The other day when it rained we just stayed in and cuddled on the couch and watched movies all day. She can make the simplest things out to be so romantic."

"Well I'm glad that you're happy. You know I've gotta check in with everything every now and again. As your official best friend, it is my duty to make sure that Abbie treats you properly with the respect that you deserve." The blonde recites in an exaggerated, yet firm voice, causing the woman in her presence to roll her eyes. "Oh please, you can't even start talking about me. Aren't you the woman who threatened my girlfriend with a pick ax? Why do you even have a pick ax?!

"It was my grandfather's. And I have it for this very reason. To scare some sense into Casey if I ever need to do it again. It worked didn't it? Remember that time you felt she was more into baseball than into you?"

"Worked is a complete understatement for what it did. She was afraid to even say the word baseball for a month and a half."

"I rest my case." Kim concludes with a head nod. "Everything okay between the two of you?" she then questions curiously, her face dropping when she sees the brief look of hesitation. "Uh oh. I know that look. What's going on?"

Alex opens and closes her mouth several times before she sighs quietly. "It's not really something that I want to discuss here in the middle of the office. Maybe we can get together after work and go surprise a sickly Southerlyn with some soup? That way we can check up on her and have a talk?"

"I suppose that will have to suffice. I'm really sorry Alex, but I have a crap load of work to get to."

"How about I bring you lunch at lunch time that way you won't have to worry about leaving the office?"

"Oh my god, you are a saint." Kim sighs heavily as she begins walking off towards her office. Sticking her tongue out at Alex over her shoulder who responds with her usual smug-Cabot like comment.

As she makes her way back to her office, she frowns deeply as she realizes the door is open. She could have sworn that she made sure to close it on her way out towards the copy room. As she cautiously steps into the doorway, her scowl deepens gradually when she spots to random strangers occupying her office. One of the two strangers is a woman with blonde hair flowing down her back clad in a blue button ducked into black slacks. Her companion is a tall, slender woman with her raven hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck as she dons a casual yet appropriate red v-neck complete with a dark pair of pants tucked into combat boots. Both strangers have visible guns holstered at their hips and Kim's attention immediately zeroes in on the blonde woman who seems to be snooping about her desk.

"Can I help you?" she questions firmly, and rhetorically as her voice comes out sharp and harsh.

The blonde's eyes immediately snap up to great the new voice and a nervous smile flits across her features as she attempts to subtly slip away from the desk. "Uh yeah, actually. We're looking for the supervising attorney over the homicide unit? Is that you?"

Kim's eyes narrow briefly as she proceeds into her office and drops the files on her desk with an audible 'thump'. "No, but as of right now you're going to have to take what you get, which is me." She replies, locking eyes with the stranger. "Assistant District Attorney Kim Greylek. I think that it's only fair now that you introduce yourself considering you were just in here snooping around my office against my awareness."

"Right," the blonde mumbles before she clears her throat and pulls out what looks to be credentials. "SSA Jennifer Jareau and this is my partner SSA Emily Prentiss. We're with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit."

"Great, Feds." Kim grumbles mentally before she straightens her posture and crosses her arms. "I see. And how may I be of any assistance to you?"

"We're here in regards to a pending homicide case. I was informed by the catching squad captain that we would be able to find all necessary files of all of the latest victims with you. I do believe the case started with a young woman by the name of Emma Barnes." The agent replies clearly.

Kim closes her eyes and exhales briefly before she moves around her desk and begins to cycle through the files she has just made copies of. As she looks through the mass amount of papers, she feels as if she is being watched intently. She glances of briefly, only to momentarily lock gazes with the agent who has yet to speak, only for the tall brunette to immediately avert her gaze elsewhere with a small blush coloring her cheeks.

"I don't seem to have that file on hand." The attorney speaks up as she stands up once more before she narrows her eyes. "Wait, did the captain say speak with the supervising attorney?"

"Yes Ma'am, that's what I was told."

"I see, come with me then."

Much like several minutes prior, heels clack rhythmically against the floors as their owner moves with a brisk purpose; but this time with two federal agents following behind her. As she rounds a quick corner, she immediately comes to a stop where she begins shuffling about in the pocket of her blazer.

Moments later, Kim pulls out her key ring and selects a small silver key before she inserts it into the door of the office before her. She turns the knob and enters the office, flipping on the light to reveal a space that is considerably larger than the one she and Serena have, complete with a large wall floor length window behind the desk.

Kim can't fight the groan that escapes her lips when she makes her way over to the desk that looks like it's been hit by a cyclone. "I apologize for the mess. It seems that my supervisor leaves her office in mass destruction when she's out."

"I see." Agent Jareau responds as her eyes land across the framed photos on the desk. One particular photo that stands out to her is a photo that contains the attorney currently in their presence locked into the tight embrace of a taller woman with long dark hair. The absent woman has her chin resting on the other woman's shoulder while she holds her from behind and the two of them smile gracefully for the camera. An embrace that speaks more than that of a friendly photo. Quirking an eyebrow, the agent glances between the photo and the woman circling through the mess of a desk. "Do you make it a habit of yours to date your supervisor, Counselor?"

Kim follows the agent's gaze and she quickly turns the framed picture face down before she goes back to looking through one of Abbie's drawers. "That's something that I don't particularly think is any of your business, Agent." She answers sharply as she locates the requested file. She holds out the file to the silent agent and quirks an eyebrow in confusion when the woman practically flinches when they're fingers brush against each other. Once again, Kim feels those same chocolate eyes gazing at her.

There is an awkward pause in the moment before Agent Jareau discreetly elbows her partner in the side causing the brunette to startled and awkwardly clear her throat before responding with a quick, yet choppy, 'Thank you'.

"Thank you for your cooperation Miss Greylek. You've been a great amount of help." Agent Jareau responds with an appreciative smile.

"I'm glad I could be of you assistance." Kim responds professionally as she leads the way back towards the door, all the while she can feel that same gaze once again following her every move.

* * *

"Way to successfully ingest your entire foot back there, Em" the blonde woman states with a smug grin as she climbs into the driver's seat of the bureau issues SUV.

"Shut up." Emily grumbles in response as she settles into the passenger seat with the file sitting in her lap. "It probably would've went so much better if she hadn't walked in on you snooping through her things, JJ."

"No, it probably would've went so much better if you hadn't been checking her out whenever she wasn't looking." JJ responds with another smug grin, feeling successful when she causes the older woman to blush heavily once more. "Ha! Called it. Wait until Garcia hears that you have the hots for the ADA.

Emily rolls her eyes and mutters something unintelligible as she gazes out of the passenger side window. As much as she would like to throttle her best friend at the moment, she can't exactly disagree with anything that's been thrown at her so far, though she would never dare to confirm any of it out loud. She did find herself to be immediately attracted to the authoritative attorney, and all she can do is hope that it was only JJ who caught her staring.

**Later**

"This is a bad idea, maybe we should just leave and let her rest." Kim hisses quietly as she and Alex stand on the other side of their remaining best friend's door. She folds her arms tightly as Alex knocks once again while she herself adjusts the bags in her hands. "Alex seriously."

"Well if she' s really sick then we'll just drop off the supplies and be on our way." Alex replies firmly as the two of them can hear shuffling on the other side of the door.

Moments later, the door swings open to reveal a rather healthy looking Serena Southerlyn who is clad in a silk robe wrapped tightly around her body. Her eyes widen briefly as they land on her two best friends before she tilts her head in confusion. "What are you two doing here?"

"Thanks for the warm welcome." Kim mumbles in response, silently feeling like coming here was such a bad idea.

Alex, however, quirks her eyebrows in confusion as her eyes roam over the other blonde. "You don't seem very sick." She points out before nodding towards the items in Kim's hands. "We brought you some things that would help you feel better, but again, you don't seem sick."

"I'm feeling much better now actually." Serena responds with a clearing of throat before she wraps her arms around herself. "Won't you come in?"

As Kim proceeds into the apartment without issue, Alex can't help but follow close behind with a rather suspicious look on her face. She turns towards Serena who flashes her a smile before she hums quietly and proceeds into the living room. Something is up, but she can't exactly put her finger on what it is exactly. Maybe it's something she and Casey can discuss later.

**An interesting start I hope considering that I've written this in the middle of the night running on no sleep. I'm currently in the process of sending in an email to the support team about fixing the spelling of Kim's name, because such a small detail is starting to irk me. Especially now that I have actually written a story in which she is listed. **

**I hope that I get your positive feedback. Your feedback is what pushes me to continue writing a story and because I'm testing the waters here with this fic, your feedback is not only greatly appreciated but needed. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Kept falling asleep while writing this. Excuse errors, hehe, enjoy!**

"You really seem to recover fast." Alex states as she glances around her best friend's living room, seeing no sign of anyone who has any kind of an illness. "What did you say was wrong with you again?"

"I didn't." Serena replies quickly as she folds her arms around her body and takes her seat on the sofa. "It was more of a migraine than anything else. I knew that I wouldn't be able to get anything done with how badly my head was aching, so I just felt it was in my best interest to work from home."

"Yeah well, you're headache aided to my headache." Kim mumbles as she flops down onto the sofa and begins massaging her temples. "Today was hell. I felt like I was practically swimming in paperwork with you and Abbie gone on the same, which mind you, can NEVER happen again. But not only was I drowning in paperwork, I was paid a special visit by the FBI who needed a case file! So not only did I had to go through Abbie's mess cluttered desk to find the file, I had to deal with an overly nosey agent who decided she was going to take an interest in the things at my desk. As you can see, it was not a good day for me."

Serena chuckles quietly as she brings her unfinished glass of wine to her lips. "I find it to be extremely amusing is that the day that I'm not there, you get a federal visit. I'm sure those poor agents were scared out of their wits."

"Not even. Like I said, one was just extremely nosey and the other was…weird. She didn't say much the entire time, she just kept staring at me like she was a lost puppy expecting something. It was starting to weird me out to the point to where I was about to verbally question it, but I decided it was probably in best interest not to. I just kept my mouth shut the whole time and gave them what they needed before sending them on their way."

"Sounds like you." Serena chuckles before she notices that her blonde friend has fallen rather silent. Something that is completely unusual for her. "What's gotten you so quiet? It's not like you to be this silent."

Breaking out of her mental stupor, Alex leans back into the comfort of the chair cushions and anxiously crosses one leg over the other. She gnaws down nervously on her bottom lip as she continues to shakily wring her hands. It's not every day that she gets nervous like this, especially when things come to her best friends, but she supposes that every moment does have its firsts right?

"I want to ask Casey to marry me." she begins nervously as she angles her shameful gaze to the ground. "But I really don't know how."

The other two women in the room are silent for the longest of moments before Kim is the first to speak up. "That's it? You're afraid to propose?" she repeats before exhaling heavily and relaxing back into the sofa. "Oh god Alex, you had me thinking you were about to tell us that you had some kind of terminal illness or something. But knowing that you're just afraid to pop the question isn't so bad."

"Isn't so bad?!" Alex screeches, her voice rising to an embarrassingly high octave. "I've had the ring for four and a half months."

Once again, the blonde's comment has stunned her two best friends into complete silence only this time Serena is the one who speaks up first. "Alex I-well first of all, I can't believe that you would actually go out and buy an engagement ring with full intent to propose to her all without telling us first. Secondly, I think that there needs to be some serious evaluation if you've had the ring for nearly five months and you have yet to 'pop the question' as it was so eloquently put."

Alex sighs heavily and drags her hands through her hair before she rests her elbows on her knees, cupping her head in her hands. "It's just…I love her so much you guys, I really do, but then when I feel like I'm ready to ask he, my mind starts playing out all of the scenarios about it. Like what if she says no and she doesn't want to get married? What if she does and we get married and we decide to have kids? Are we ready for kids? Do we have time for kids considering our careers and the things that we see every day? Can we handle being joined together as one in that aspect of our lives? The questions are endless you guys and it all immediately goes back to my number one initial fear; what if she says no?"

"What are the odds of Casey saying no to you?" Kim deadpans as she arches a finely sculpted eyebrow. "When has there ever been a time where she HAS said no to you?"

"This isn't the same Kimberly. This isn't just me going up to her and asking her if she wants Pizza or Chinese for dinner. This isn't me going up to her and asking if she would like her steak medium rare or well done. This is me asking her if she is willing to spend the rest of her life with me and only me. It's probably the most important question that she has ever been asked in her entire life and her sane mind will require for her to answer honestly. What if that honest answer is a no?"

"Well, you never know until you try. Like Kim said, when has there ever been a time where Casey has denied you something? I realize that this is by far the most important decision you've ever had to think about in your life, but Al, the woman loves you; more than anything. Anyone can see it. I personally think that proposing to her would be a great idea. I really don't have any doubt in my mind that she would say yes."

"There's that but I…" Alex pauses, mentally cursing herself when she feels a blush begin to slowly creep its way down her neck. "I stink at being romantic. I want to ask her in a romantic and unique way because I know that the proposal should be one of the most important moments in someone's life. I just don't want to mess it up."

Kim smiles a rare reassuring smile as she reaches over and gives her best friend's hand a firm squeeze. "Don't worry. When the time is right, you'll know exactly what to do."

"And if that moment comes and I still don't know what I'm doing?"

"Well, uh, improvise?"

* * *

Later on that evening, Alex steps through the door of her apartment to be greeted with the warm smell of Italian cooking in the kitchen. A wide smile spreads across her face when she slides off her coat and steps into said kitchen where her eyes land on her beautiful girlfriend moving about the stove. At first glance, no one would think that Casey knew how to even work an over, but Alex quickly learned after their first date, not to make assumptions about the redhead.

She creeps of behind her lover and wraps her arms around her waist before she nuzzles cozily into her neck. "I didn't know you were making dinner today." She mumbles quietly before placing a gentle kiss to soft, pale flesh.

Casey smiles warmly and leans back into the loving embrace as she continues to stir the wooden spoon around a pot containing a rich, tomato sauce. "I wanted to surprise you." she responds, feeling her heart warm when she feels Alex place another kiss to her neck, but this time just below her ear. "I wanted this to be one day where you came home and I was making your dinner."

"You're too good to me." The blonde replies as she takes a moment to inhale the food once again.

"That and I don't want you to continuously attempt to live off of Chinese food for the rest of your life." Casey replies with a smug smirk before she raises the wooden spoon and gently blows on the glop of sauce that came with it. "Come taste?"

Alex moves her lips over the cooling spoonful of sauce before she takes it between her lips. A satisfying hum leaves her lips before she licks them, enjoying the taste as it enters her mouth. "That tastes amazing. But I can think of something that tastes even better." She hums with a grin before she claims her lover's lips in a gentle kiss that only lasts long enough for it to be innocent. "Strawberry?"

"Cherry." Casey replies with a grin as she licks her lips in reference to the flavor of her lip gloss for the day.

"Damn! I'm always so close. Anyway, how was court?"

"Guilty on all charges with the maximum sentence and no parole. I'm glad that the bastard is going to be locked up for the rest of his life. What he did to those little girls was awful."

"I know. And I'm glad you handled it the way you did." she hums, pulling Casey into her arms. She sighs happily, inhaling the comingle scent of Casey's body wash, shampoo, and the smell that is just naturally Casey. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there to support you. I had to help Kim around the office."

Casey pulls away from the embrace and quirks an eyebrow in confusion before tilting her head. "What was going on that Kim needed your help?"

"Abbie had taken the day off and Serena was sick." Alex replies before her frown from earlier that evening returns. "Speaking of which, something seems very off to me. Kim and I went over to Serena's apartment earlier to take her some things that would help her feel better, but when we got there, it seemed like she was perfectly fine. She was up drinking wine and watching television when we got there. Another thing that I noticed was she said she decided to work from home, but there was no kind of evidence around her apartment that she had been working."

Casey mulls things over in her mind before she hums in agreement. "I do agree with you that does sound a little strange, but why would Serena lie about being sick?"

"I don't know. That's the part that doesn't make any sense to me. What reason would she have to lie?"

"I'm sure that it's nothing and you're just over thinking again. Now go set the table. Dinner's almost done."

Alex nods and gives her girlfriend one last kiss to the corner of her mouth before she makes her way over to the cabinet to begin pulling out the dishes. She pauses briefly only to reach her hand into the left pocket of her blazer where her fingers connect with the velvet ring box. She glances over her shoulder and Casey and squeezes the box reassuringly in her hand before she turns her attention back to setting the table.

_ 'Maybe some other time.' _

**Meanwhile…**

Kim enters her shared apartment with her girlfriend only to be greeted by the sound of gunfire and explosions as well as Abbie's laughter and dialogue. She can't help but roll her eyes as she enters the living room and spots the brunette in question on the couch with her hands tightly gripping the Xbox controller. She shakes her head though there is a grin tugging at her lips. "You know, you're begin to make me wish I hadn't gotten you this thing for Christmas." She chuckles as she fully enters the living room. "Please tell me you did more than just play video games all day?"

Abbie grins as she puts her game on pause and stands up to greet her girlfriend. "Now if I did that I'd be lying and how could I lie to such a gorgeous face?" she drawls quietly, her accent coming out as seductive purr before lightly grazing the other woman's lips with her own. Not even enough to call it a kiss. "How was work?"

"Rough…" Kim groans as she recalls her day. "I had so much work to do with both you and Serena gone, not to mention the FBI popped in and paid an unexpected visit. You really do need to organize your desk by the way. When looking for the file they needed, I felt like I was literally looking for a needle in a haystack. You know it's hard to believe you're the supervising attorney. You who spends her time playing Call of Duty and snacking on pizza leftovers complete with your messy office."

"It's what makes you love me." Abbie hums in response before stepping away. "How about you go change out of your work clothes and I'll order some food for us?" she suggests before moving away quickly to flop down on the couch. She watches as her girlfriend disappears up the stairs before she pulls out her cell phone and resumes her text.

_**'Hey, she just got home. Afraid our conversation is gonna have to end here.' **_She types out before hitting the send button, only to receive a reply a few moments later.

_**'Damn. Her timing is always the worst.'**_

_** 'I know. Listen Baby, I gotta go, but I'll message you again in an hour or two.'**_

_** 'I'll be waiting ;)' **_

**Hmmmm, leave your thoughts? **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I see that a number of you have your suspicions and it's quite interesting. Glad you guys are following this story. Enjoy!**

For about five minutes, Emily has tried and failed miserably not to notice the way that the barista behind the counter is gazing at her every now and again as she prepares her coffee. Truth be told, one would think that she would be used to people staring at her, but it's just something she's just never wrapped her mind around; which is ironic when being a diplomats daughter. But now in her adulthood she assumes that it's just the gun that makes people stare at her. She hopes it's the gun.

As she waits for her coffee, her mind wanders back to the beautiful woman that she met the day before. In truth, it has been quite some time that a woman has caught her eye like that, and she believes that is the very reason that she handled the situation like she did; poorly. And JJ teasing her all the way back to headquarters was no doubt needless.

But alas, ever since yesterday her mind has been on a certain attorney with the bluest-greenest eyes that she has ever seen before in her life. She blushes heavily when she thinks about how she was literally staring at the woman. So intently that JJ was able to notice and the brown haired beauty in question was probably able to pick up on it as well. And the way she just tensed up when they're fingers touched was god awful. Way to play it cool, Prentiss.

"Emily?"

The agent is drawn from her thoughts by the barista calling her name and holding the tall insulated cup over the counter. She accepts the cup with an offer of thanks and can't help but notice that the receipt taped to the cup has two pairs of phone numbers on it; one being the printed number of the coffee shop and the other being handwritten in blue pen with a smiley face by it. She chuckles quietly and shakes her head before she turns to leave the café…

Only to run into someone on her way out. Unfortunately spilling her coffee on the stranger.

"Shit. God, I'm so sorry." She stammers, crouching down to pick the fallen cup off of the floor, frowning when she receives a small chuckle in response.

"Oh look, she does talk." the stranger responds lightly.

'I know that voice.' Emily thinks as she stands up once more only to be met with the blue-green eyes of her thoughts latest topic. "M-miss Greylek, I didn't know you were-I-I mean I didn't-well, I, uh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright." Kim responds easily as she pulls them over to a booth in the shop where she begins unbuttoning her blazer. "I really should have been paying more attention. Agent Prentiss, right?"

The raven haired woman blinks dumbly for a moment before she vigorously nods her head and manages to open her mouth. "Uh y-yeah, that's me, but you can just call me Emily…if you want."

"Only if you agree to call me Kim." The attorney chuckles before tilting her head. "Hearing Miss Greylek all the time makes me feel like I'm my mother."

"Kim it is then. Listen, I-I'm extremely sorry about spilling coffee on you. I'll pay to have your jacket cleaned with no problem."

"No, don't worry about it. I think that this is just karma getting me back. I made my best friend spill her coffee on herself yesterday and I laughed at her about it, so I think this is just the forces of nature paying me back."

Emily nods once more, albeit silently and rather lamely. She catches herself staring at the beautiful woman once again before she clears her throat and feels heat immediately flush to her face. "Are you sure? It's really the least that I could do considering…"

Kim chuckles quietly once more and shakes her head as she folds her blazer into neat creases and places it on the table by her purse. "Really it's not that big of a deal. And it mostly caught my jacket anyway. I have a spare in my closet at work so I'll just forgo wearing my jacket until I get to the office."

Emily purses her lips briefly for a moment as she tries to keep her eyes from flickering down to the cleavage of the attorney's royal blue shirt. "Well if not that, let me buy you a coffee for our impromptu intrusion yesterday. I know that seeing us in your office was probably the last thing you needed for your morning. Especially since you were the only one there."

"It wasn't much of a problem. The only minor issue that I had was that of your partner who was snooping around my desk. I found that to be an unnecessary invasion of my privacy." Kim speaks firmly, though not harshly.

"I'm sorry about her." Emily winces in response as she shakes her head. "JJ tends to be very…well, she likes to get in tune with her surroundings a little more than she should. I promise you that she didn't mean any offense or anything. I can make her apologize about it if you want."

"It doesn't bother me much now. I was just really stressed out yesterday what with the other two people in my unit taking off on the same day. But I'm sure that you could care less about hearing my boring story about my day at work yesterday."

"I-I really wouldn't mind…I mean, that is if you have time to you know, talk. But it's okay if you don't; I'll completely understand. But if you do then we can you know talk about work, or something else, or whatever you want to talk about. Unless you don't want to then I'll just…"

Kim's light chuckle interrupts the agent's rambling much to her embarrassment. "I find it to be extremely ironic that yesterday the only two words you said to me were 'thank you' and now you're struggling to form a coherent sentence. Surely I don't make you nervous. You wield a gun and chase down bad guys for a living. I can't imagine what's nerve wracking about an economical prosecutor such as myself."

As if on cue once more, Emily blushes and awkwardly rubs at the back of her neck. To be honest, she has probably done a lot more blushing in the past five minutes than she has ever done in her entire lifetime. "Yeah well, I...how about that coffee?"

* * *

Later on that evening, Kim finds herself spending a relaxing Friday evening with her two best friends. She has her head resting in Serena's lap whiles stretching across the length of the sofa while Alex makes herself comfortable with being folded up in her favorite arm chair. To anyone else, it would look strange to see the seemingly 'hardcore' attorneys lounging about the living room like a trio of teenagers, but to them, it's just normal.

"When's the last time you cried?" Serena asks randomly, looking down at Kim who seems to be staring absentmindedly at the ceiling.

Kim's eyes narrow briefly as her brow contorts into a frown and she begins thinking of a response to the question. "You guys remember when we were seven and Kennedy put that spider down my shirt?" she questions in reference to her older sister, only to receive a nod of confirmation from the two blondes. "That was the last time I cried."

Alex's eyes widen as she tears her eyes away from the singing mermaid on her television before her gaze lands on the couch. "You mean you haven't cried in twenty years?" she asks in complete shock. "What about that time you broke your ankle?"

"That hurt, but I didn't cry."

"What about when you went and saw the Titanic?"

"That was a sad movie, but I didn't cry."

"You have no soul then."

"Thanks Alex, love you too." Kim responds with an eye roll before she gazes back up at the woman who asked the question. "Why?"

"Why what?" Serena responds with a small frown as she looks down once again.

Kim rolls her eyes and reaches her hand up to flick her friend against the forehead, receiving an audible 'ow' in response. "Why'd you ask me about the last time I cried, weirdo? Honestly Serena, only you can ask a question and then forget the very question you asked not even five minutes later. How do you even survive in court?"

Alex chuckles and shakes her head as she unfolds herself from the armchair and stretches. "She makes us all look like we belong into that stereotypical blonde field." She jokes, laughing as she nearly dodges the couch pillow that was chunked at her head. "You missed me-ow! Jerks…"

"Anyway," Serena begins with a smug grin on her lips as she blows Alex a mock kiss only to receive the finger in response. "I didn't really have a particular reason for asking. I suppose that I was just curious."

"Oh, well, I guess that's okay." Kim responds with a tiny shrug. "I guess that crying just really isn't my thing. It doesn't happen you know? Like, nothing has happened that has actually been worth crying for. When I broke my ankle, I knew that crying wouldn't help the pain go away so I just didn't. I just can't cry over a movie either, I don't know why. No one has done anything to me that has been worth crying over so there's the answer to that one. I just don't cry."

"What if Abbie forgot your birthday or something?" Alex inquires with a tilt of her head.

Kim thinks for a moment before she shakes her head. "I wouldn't be as sad over that as I would be pissed, so no, I wouldn't cry. We've been together long enough for her to be able to remember important dates so I think her forgetting my birthday would just piss me off."

"Well what if she…I don't know, cheated on you?"

"Alex that's crazy. Abbie wouldn't do that."

"I know she wouldn't but it's just an example."

"A stupid one. I can't even think about that because I know how absurd that is. Abbie wouldn't cheat on me."

"That does seem to be a bit…much." Serena speaks up as she focuses her eyes back on the movie. "You guys ever wonder why we are grown women who pile into Alex's living room every night to watch cartoon movies that more often than not involve singing characters?"

"My favorite Disney movie doesn't have singing." Alex speaks up with a tiny frown on her face.

"What movie is that?"

"The Incredibles."

"Ooo, that was a good movie. We should watch that next." Kim concurs as she sits up from the sofa and stands as well. "I'm gonna go make some more popcorn. I'll be back."

Serena watches as the taller woman heads into the kitchen before her eyes land on Alex. "You really think she hasn't cried in twenty years?"

Alex thinks for a moment before she simply shrugs her shoulders. "For Kim it's possible. She doesn't really seem like she does the whole red faced, puffy eyed thing. Why?"

"Just wondering…"

**Something's rotten in Denmark huh? Tsk tsk. Leave your thoughts? **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I apologize for my absence. I'm hoping that I will get a chapter up for Diamond later on tonight. As for the others, writer's block has gotten to me. In the mean time, this is what came out. Hope you enjoy. **

As Kim makes her way into her office, she is thoroughly surprised to find Abbie occupying the space, and she looks a little more than 'less than pleased'. "Uh, hey?" she begins cautiously, making her way around to her desk where she sits her things down when she feels the other woman's glare following her. "Alright, what did I do?"

"Why are you late?" Abbie replies flatly as she clenches her jaw and tightens her arms across her chest.

"Excuse me?"

"You're late. Why are you walking in here nearly an hour late without even bothering to call in advance and tell me that you're going to be late?"

Kim blinks several times before she straightens her spine and places her hands on her hips. "I'm sorry that I didn't think to inform you that I was going to be running a little late." She shoots back with a small amount of sarcasm in her voice. "I was getting coffee this morning when I ran into a friend and we started chatting. I guess time just got away from me."

Abbie raises her eyebrows challengingly as her frustrations begin to increase. "What friend were you meeting for coffee because Alex was here when I got here. Who were you meeting?"

"It's really not relevant at the moment. What's relevant is why you are standing here berating me in my office and not even bothering to tell me why."

"We had a meeting with Liz this morning and you missed it because you were late."

This makes Kim snap her mouth shut, before she digs around in her purse for her phone. "I didn't get any kind of information about a meeting this morning and you act as if this was something that you couldn't have told me last night before we went to bed." She concludes before looking up and pursing her lips tightly. "I apologize that I missed a meeting that I had absolutely no knowledge of."

"You're sarcasm is something that's not needed right now, Kimberly."

"And neither is your attitude! Do you honestly think it's fair for me to stand here and listen to you rant about me missing one meeting that I didn't even know about? To be completely fair, you weren't even here yesterday! And neither as Serena! I had to do literally everything by myself including your work, her work, on top of my own work. You seriously cannot get mad at me over something that I did not know about when you very well could have told me about it last night. You're being irrational Abigail."

Abbie slams her palms down on the desk before leaning across it with a menacing look in her eyes. "Do not think that just because we are together that means you get special treatment when it comes to work. You still have to do what I say when I say it, including showing up on time in the mornings especially when there are meetings."

"I didn't even-fine." Kim concludes sharply, folding her arms as she sets her jaw and looks away. "I'm sorry I missed the meeting."

"We'll talk more about this when I get home tonight."

"I don't even know what else there is to talk about, but whatever."

Without another word, the fuming brunette spins on her heel and storms out of the office, leaving a very heavy silence in her wake. Kim on the other hand simply sighs quietly before she plops down into her chair and drags her fingers through her hair wondering what the hell just happened.

"Trouble in paradise?" A rather cautious voice inquires from the doorway.

Kim looks up to find a curious redhead gazing at her worriedly from the door and she manages a small smile. "Hey Case. Good morning to you too."

Casey straightens up before she enters the office and plops down into one of the visitor chairs. "Everything alright? You could hear Abbie yelling from down the hall and around the corner. Did you two have a fight or something?"

"Or something." Kim answers with a shake of her head. "She was mad at me because apparently I missed some meeting with Liz and it was a meeting that I didn't even know about. She was also upset that I came in a little later than usual and I didn't 'bother to call her'. I don't know what her problem was, but she was being ridiculous."

Casey hums with a small nod before she tilts her head in curiosity once more, although, this time it's more towards the attitude of her best friend. "Well would you like me to go talk to her for you? See if I can get her to let loose what's bothering her? I'm sure that it's not anything that you did. Abbie just gets…like that sometimes. She gets fussy when things aren't going her way."

Kim chuckles quietly at the statement before nodding in agreement. "Much like a small child, yes. That's alright, you don't have to talk to her or anything. I'm sure she'll cool off by lunch time. I just really wish she wouldn't do things like that at work, you know? It's really embarrassing to have her berate me loud enough to where it can be heard down by the front desk, like I'm a little kid or something. Then she tries to act like I don't know how to do my job, like I shouldn't even be here. I'm really getting tired of her treating me like I'm some little kid or something while we're at work. Things are fine at home, it's just when we get here…things are different. It's beginning to get tiresome."

"I wish I could sympathize with you, but all I can say is that I think the two of you should have a talk. Yeah things might be fine now, but pretty sure it's gonna start bleeding over into your home life, and then that won't be any good. You don't want work mixing with your relationship." Casey concludes before another thought crosses her mind. "Speaking of which, do you know what's been going on with Alex lately? She seems a little nervous around me. More than usual. It's not something I did is it?"

A tiny smile threatens to break out across Kim's face, but for the sake of surprise, she manages to keep it suppressed. "No Casey, it's not anything that you've done. Alex is more than happy with you. As for why she's nervous, I'm afraid that's something that I'm unable to help you with."

Casey sighs in minor defeat before she nods her head. "Thanks anyway. It's good to know that I haven't done anything that's made her upset. I really love her, you know? I just wish she'd tell me what's bothering her so I can help fix it. I don't like seeing her nervous."

"Well I'm sure she's nervous for a very good reason."

**Meanwhile**…

"Did you hear Abbie yelling?" Detective Olivia Benson questions as she strides into her ADA's office.

"The entire office heard Abbie yelling." Alex replies with a shake of her head before she motions towards the door and then a chair in front of her desk. "Shut the door and have a seat Liv."

The detective does as she's told before she quirks an eyebrow in suspicion. "This…has absolutely nothing to do with work…does it?" she questions carefully, knowing just how to read Alex's tells when she needs them. "Alright Cabot, what do you want?"

Alex's mouth falls open before she places a hand against her heart in faux shock. "Why Olivia Benson, what makes you think that I would want something?" she gasps, through her hair back in a rather haughty manner.

"You forget I've known you for years and I'm a detective. I'm able to pick up on these things." The brunette responds with a smirk before her face turns serious. "But seriously Alex, what's up? I can tell that you've got something rather important that you want to ask me and I can't decide whether or not I want to help you if you don't tell me what it is."

A rare look of nervousness crosses the attorney's features as she bites down on her lower lip. "Well I need to favors actually. The first favor is going to call on you as a friend and as a person." She concludes before she reaches into her desk drawer and pulls out the black velvet ring box. She carefully opens it and stretches her arm across the table for her friend to examine.

Olivia's mouth forms into a perfect 'O' shape as her eyes land on the glistening, and probably extremely expensive, engagement ring nestled perfectly amongst the silk inside the box. "Oh my god Al, this-this is beautiful." She mumbles before placing her hand against her mouth. "My goodness, I-I'm flattered but I really had no idea you felt this way about me."

Alex rolls her eyes before she shakes her head in minimal disapproval. "It's not for you, you moron, it's for Casey."

"I know. I'm just teasing." The detective responds with a wide grin before she carefully sits the expensive piece of jewelry on the desk. "But seriously though, that ring is gorgeous. How much did it cost you?"

"Far more than your annual paycheck." Alex responds with a smirk before she begins examining the ring herself. "I've had it for months now and I still haven't asked her. I'm worried I'm going to mess it up."

"Alex that's ridiculous. You're Alexandra Cabot, I'm sure your proposal will be just like you do everything else; perfectly."

"Thanks Liv, but I feel like this is the one thing in my life that I don't know how to do and that scares me. It scares me a lot. I mean, what if she says no?"

"Alex honestly when has Casey-"

"-Ever said no to me, I know. She hasn't, but that's the thing. I've never asked her to marry me before. This is different. Plus this proposal has to be perfect. I need ideas. Good ones."

Olivia quirks her eyebrows before she tilts her head. "I'm not saying that I don't want to help you because I'm more than honored that you would come to me for help, but why not ask Kim and Serena? You've been friends with them for how long? Since you were kids?"

Alex hesitates for a moment before nodding. "I know and I did ask them. I know Kim is working on it but Serena…well…she leads into my next favor." She trails off, her voice turning completely serious. "The first one I needed you ask a person and as a friend. Now I need you as a cop and a detective."

"Uh oh. I'm not sure I like where this is going."

"Good. You shouldn't." Alex responds with a smirk of her own. "Keep in mind you are not obligated to say yes to this, but I will really appreciate it if you do. I will also pay you for it."

This time, Olivia is the one to hesitate before she sighs quietly. "Alright, I'm listening."

"Serena has been…off lately." Alex phrases carefully. "And it's not the kind of off in a good way. Yesterday she lied about being sick and not coming into work and even before that she was acting a little suspicious. It's not like her to keep things from me and I guess I'm just curious as to what's going on. So what's where you come in."

"You want me to follow her and see what I can find." Olivia concludes as she raises an eyebrow inquisitively. "Am I right? You want me to act as your private investigator."

Alex holds her breath for a moment before she nods her head. "That's right. I trust you and there was no one else I felt safe enough going to with this."

"And what makes you think that I'm the right person for this job?"

"Well, after all, you _are_ a detective."

**Later That Evening **

Serena hums quietly to herself as she moves about her bedroom, lighting candles in their respective places. She blows out the match after lighting the last candle and wafts it in the air before cautiously placing it down on one of the wax trays. She pauses in her wall length mirror long enough to check and make sure not a single one of her perfect blonde hairs is out of place, right before she hears a knock at the door.

She tights the sash of her mid-thigh length silk robe as she makes her way down the stairs and over to the front door, where she quickly pulls it open with a seductive smile tugging at her lips. "Hey you."

"Hey yourself." Her guest replies as their eyes roam up and down her body.

"Like what you see?" The blonde attorney inquires as her smirk begins to widen by the second.

"Very much so. You gonna invite me in?"

"I didn't know you needed much of an invitation."

"You know I like it when you tell me what to do. It makes you look even sexier than you are already."

Serena giggles quietly as she blushes and grabs the taller woman's hand, pulling their bodies flush against one another. "You know just how to get a girl where you want her, don't you, Abigail?"

Abbie chuckles as she places her hands on the blonde's hips and pulls her closer. "I guess you could say that." she husks into her ear before placing a light kiss to the skin of her neck and inhaling deeply. "You smell amazing." She murmurs before she placing a series of light kisses.

"Mmm. Is the she-devil at home waiting for you?"

"Probably. She'll probably call in an hour or so. She'll be alright." Abbie answers with a dismissive, nonchalant shrug.

"Good." Serena responds as she pulls away and takes her lover's hand in her own. "Because I've got a surprise for you upstairs."

"I like the sound of that. Lead the way."

**Uh oh…dun dun…leave your thoughts? **


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: This chapter is very…well you'll see…**

A rather reluctant Detective Benson gnaws nervously on her lower lip as she clutches the manila folder in her hand and she makes her way down the hall towards her ADA's office. She glances around briefly before she quickly slips into the blonde's office and locks the door behind her.

"You could've called first." Alex replies with a quirked eyebrow at her detective's suspicious behavior. It's then that she notices the folder in the other woman's hand and her face turns serious once again. "Is this work related?"

"Sorta." Liv responds as she strides further into the office and plops down in one of the visitor chairs. "This is about that personal job that you needed to get done."

"I see." Alex responds before she pulls out her checkbook and a pen. "How much do I owe you then?"

Olivia places her hand on Alex's and shakes her head. "Honestly, after what I've seen over the past week, you don't owe me anything." She responds softly and almost sadly before she pushes the folder further towards the blonde.

Alex frowns in slight confusion before she brings the folder closer to her. She hesitates for a moment before she opens it and finds a series of pictures littering its contents. Her face morphs from shock, to confusion, to sadness, to anger all within a span of thee seconds before her face goes back to its typical Cabot neutrality; almost _too_ neutral.

Olivia shifts uncomfortably for a brief moment, clearing her throat when she sees Alex close the folder and roughly shove it away from her with the utmost amount of disgust. "To be completely honest Alex, I-I really don't know what to say. I mean, after the first day I assumed nothing of it, considering the working circumstances, but then the time at the movies and the mall and the park and the other various, strategically discrete outings. The first time I just thought it was a friendly meeting, but as you can see from those photos, nothing about any of those kisses is friendly."

Alex simply continues to remain silence before she folds her hands on her desk and leans back in her office chair. To be honest, she knew that she was suspicious on various things, but in truth, this was probably the last outcome that had ever crossed her mind and unfortunately for her, she's sure that she's one of the only four people that know about it.

"I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to say about this." The attorney responds after a heavy moment in an icily thin voice. "Are you sure that I don't owe you anything? Because that was a part of our deal."

"Alex, really, it's fine. I don't think that I could take your money anyway, especially not after this. Look, it's really none of my business so I just want you to know that I don't have any intentions on saying anything about it. I mean, I know that it's wrong, but it's really not my place to say anything…"

"In truth, I'm not even sure if it's my place either."

* * *

"I don't have time for your incompetence! Where is that file?"

"I put it on your desk yesterday! I swear that I did, I even made two copies of it because I knew that this would happen. It's not my fault that you lost it."

Abbie's glare hardens before her jaw clenches dangerously. "Lately your work ethics have been less than up to par Kim. I don't know what's going on but you need to figure some shit out and get it together. Do you know how much work Serena has to pick up because of you? Which then in turn means more work for me?"

Kim groans irritably as she digs the palms of her hands into her eye sockets. "I'm trying alright? Damnit Abbie, I'm just tired okay? There's just so much going on right now with work and my mother's in the hospital and I'm just so damn tired! I don't understand why you constantly insist on bringing all of our problems here! For the past week, you've barely even talked to me when we're at home but then we get here and then you get like this. Was it something that I did, because if it was, then I'm sorry and I'll do whatever I can to fix it, but I can't do that until you tell me what it is I did."

"Do you love me?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Do you love me?" Abbie repeats firmly before she folds her arms. "Answer me Kimberly, do you love me."

"Of course I love you." Kim responds with a frown as if she was just asked for the answer to one plus one. "What kind of question is that? Now are you questioning our relationship because this is hardly the place to do that."

Abbie sighs from heavy exasperation before she begins pacing back and forth. "Sometimes it would be nice to go home and feel like I'm welcomed home, you know? I'd like to have a nice meal when I get home from work, or something like that every now and then. I'm getting tired of walking in to see you sitting on the couch reading a book or a file or something."  
Kim frowns before she crosses her arms defensively. "First of all, I read books because I like them. Secondly, I read so many files because I don't have enough time to do everything here! You give me so much work that it's just so impossible for me to finish it all that I have to take it home with me or else I'm going to be even more behind than I already am. I'm sorry if you're really like I'm ignoring you, but I'm just really tired Abbie and I don't know what else to do."

"Then try harder." Abbie exclaims harshly, stopping dead in her tracks. "Maybe instead of sitting on your ass and having conversations with your friends, you could get some actual work done."

"I really don't even know what to say to you right now. You're being ridiculous and irrational and you're not even letting me explain my side of this pointless argument."

"None of our discussions are pointless."

"This one sure seems like it!"

A small tentative knock on the doorway draws the two women out of their argument long enough for their gazes to land on the occupant in the doorway. Abbie quirks an eyebrow in genuine confusion, while Kim simply blushes and pinches the bridge of her nose out of embarrassment at being caught in such a situation with her girlfriend.

"Is now not a good time…?" Emily wonders awkwardly as she nervously rubs at the back of her neck. To be honest, she had actually stood in the door maybe a good two minutes or so debating on whether or not she should walk away or cause a cease to the bout between the shouting woman. Her body chose the latter; unfortunately, her mind hadn't had a chance to catch up yet.

Fortunately, Kim is the one who speaks up first, offering a small smile and a look of relief at her appearance. "Hi Emily."

Unfortunately, Abbie is the one who responds next with her ever present scowl on her face as she sizes up the new stranger in the room. "We are having a very private discussion." She bites out harshly, before quirking an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"Special Agent Prentiss." Emily responds, folding her arms as she matches Abbie glare for glare. "I'm one of the agents working with your detectives on the case of the still disappearing women and the unsub who leaves behind playing cards at the bodies. You must be Abbie. I've heard quite a bit about you from your detectives…and maybe a few other ADAs in passing."

Abbie's eyes shoot to Kim who immediately holds up her hands in surrender as she quickly shakes her head. "We'll finish this conversation later." She speaks to her partner before moving towards the door realizing that it's blocked by a certain agent. "Agent Prentiss…"

Emily steps to the side, allowing for the seething attorney to exit the room. She stares after her for a moment before she turns back to Kim with a softened expression. "She was going at you harshly a few minutes ago. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Kim responds, probably a little too quickly before she manage a small smile. "It's been like that a lot lately, but she's just stressing out over things at work."

"Are you sure it's just things at work?"

"…I'm sure. So what can I do for you?"

Emily snaps her mouth shut as she once again realizes that she hasn't gotten this far in her plan. Honestly, she's not even supposed to be at the DA's office at the moment, she's supposed to be picking up lunch for JJ and Garcia, but something in her mind told her that she needed to see a certain brunette attorney again but she couldn't particularly come up with a reason why. She had hoped that she would come up with a reason by the time she got there, but once again, she's failed to do so.

"I-I uh, well I was just around and I thought I would stop in…see if you've managed to get your jacket cleaned from where I spilled coffee on you." the typically composed agent rambles out, winces when she realizes just how lame that sounds.

"Well thank you for your concerned but yes, I did manage to get it dry cleaned." Kim responds with a tiny laugh before she slowly guides herself down into her chair with a rather defeated sigh.

Emily, being a profiler, immediately picks up on the other woman trying to suppress her bubbling emotions and she immediately moves closer into the office. "Hey, uh are you okay? If you aren't and you really want to be alone, I can leave. I know I just kind of popped in unannounced and albeit at a really bad time, so I can give you your privacy. I didn't mean to bother you."

"No, you weren't bothering me. In fact, I'm glad you showed up. I was getting pretty tired of Abbie's yelling and I just don't have to energy to listen to that right now. There's just too much going on in my life between her being constantly upset with me here, but neutral at home and then my mother being in the hospital after an accident, I just-I'm sorry. I shouldn't be unloading all of my personal problems on you when we hardly know each other."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Sometimes people just need to talk things out in order to feel better, and you look like you could really use a talk. How about I take you out to lunch? That way you can get your mind off of everything and then maybe I won't seem like such a stranger. That way you won't have any problems opening up anymore?"

"I think…that will be nice. Let me grab my things."

**Later That Evening **

"You seem upset." Casey responds as she is seated on the sofa and she watches Alex pace vibrantly back and forth across the living room which means she is unfortunately pacing in front of the television while the Yankees are playing. "You seem really upset."

"I am upset." Alex responds tersely before she stops and looks to her lover with steely eyes. "I need you to do something for me."

Casey hums as she takes the opportunity to attempt to peer around the tall blonde in order to see this television. "What's that?" she responds, although a little absentmindedly as she still tries and fails miserably to see the television. Her hopes and dreams of baseball are dashed when the TV goes black and she looks up to see Alex glaring down at her while holding the remote. "Okay, I'm listening. You have my undivided attention."

Alex sets the remote down on the coffee table before she folds her arms and sighs heavily. In truth, she isn't sure if she should tell Casey or not, but she wants something to be done and she isn't sure how she's supposed to go about it. Of course for her, letting things just play out is not in her vocabulary.

"I need you to talk to Abbie, since she's your best friend." Alex begins, opening her mouth to continue when Casey speaks up.

"Of course I talk Abbie because she's my best friend. Do we need to talk more?" Casey inquires with an innocent tilt of her head.

"Well if you would let me finish." Alex begins again with a firm shake of her head. "I need you to talk to Abbie because she is your friend and not mine and she is not treating Kim like she's supposed to. Kim happens to be my best friend and I'm very protective of her."

Casey waits for a moment before nodding her head and standing from the sofa to wrap the icy blonde into her arms, hoping to cool her down. "Of course, Baby. If that's all you wanted, all you had to do was ask. I'll talk to her for you."

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to run a quick errand. I'll be back in maybe an hour." Alex responds, sharing a brief kiss with her lover before she grabs her coat and makes her way out of their apartment.

About fifteen minutes later, she finds herself standing outside of a certain blonde's apartment door as she knocks rather viciously. She continues to bang on the door even after she hears the locks turning and as soon as it's opened even a crack, she forces her way inside.

"Alex what the hell?!" Serena exclaims, quickly locking the door and following the taller woman further into her apartment. "Have you ever heard of common courtesy?"

"Are you alone?" Alex asks firmly, her eyes hard and blazing with anger. "Is she here?"

Serena scowls deeply before shaking her head. "Is who here? Alex, I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you should explain yourself further before you come barging into other people's apartments.

Alex scoffs dismissively before she laughs mirthlessly. "Don't play dumb with me Serena, it has never been something that looks good on you. I know that you've been sleeping with Abbie."

A look of fear crosses Serena's face before she immediately shakes her head in denial. "I don't know what you're talking about. The times that she's been here it's been because of work related reasons. That's a pretty harsh accusation for someone who doesn't have any evidence."

Alex wastes no time in shoving the folder into the other woman's arms. She watches as Serena looks through the files, a hard blush covering her features as she looks through the photos. "Now are you going to stop lying to me?" she questions rhetorically, her voice lowering to a disappointed whisper. "How could you do that to her, Serena? You know how much Kim loves her and we're all supposed to be best friends. We've been best friends since we were little kids. How could you do something like this?"

"Abbie loves me." Serena responds firmly as she tightens her jaw and her words come out with harsh certainty.

"If she loved you, then why is she still officially dating Kim and keeping you under wraps? She's using you Serena, can't you see that?!"

"I'm really sick of you taking up for Kim. You always take up for her and you always take her side. You never even bother to stop and think about what I might want or what's best for me. Abbie loves me and it's not my fault that she's not happy with Kim. Kim never deserved her anyway."

Alex licks her lips and nods her head before she folds her arms. "I see. So this is about how jealous you are. Look, Abbie doesn't love you and I don't know what I can do to make you realize that. If she did then this wouldn't be a problem. But I will not stand here and let you continue to do this when I know it's going to hurt Kim like this. What Kim really doesn't deserve is for her so called 'best friend' to be sleeping around with the woman she's in love with. It's not right. I want you to stop this before all of you end up getting hurt."

Serena thinks about protesting before she realizes that she can't hold up an argument with Alex. "Fine." She responds convincingly before she shrugs.

"Fine? That's it?"

"Yes, that's it. You're right and I'll stop seeing Abbie…"

Alex is silent for a long moment before she sighs and nods her head. "That's all I ask. The rest is something that you need to sort out for yourself on your own." she states before making her way towards the front door.

"I will." Serena calls out, rolling her eyes irritably when she hears her front door close before she moves to lock it. She stands silently in her living room for about ten minutes before she hears the lock turning on her door.

"Hey I brought wine." Abbie says brightly, holding up the bottle of the red liquid before she notices Serena's grave face. "Hey, what's going on?"

Serena pouts, crossing the room before she wraps her arms around the taller woman's waist and rests her head on her shoulder. "Alex has been prying into my personal business. She knows about us."

Abbie's eyes widen briefly before she quickly pulls away to look at her lover. "What? How does she know? You know what, that doesn't even matter, you just better find a way to keep her from telling."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I've got it all taken care of. You see, I told her that I would stop seeing you. For Kim's sake." Serena purrs, slipping her arms around Abbie's neck before pulling her in closer. "But the thing is, I have no intention of doing that. We just gotta be more careful."

"Oh, I see. Well it's a good thing that Liz is planning on sending me on a little business trip then, huh?"

"What? Liz is sending you on a business trip?"

"No," Abbie responds with a sly grin. "But Kim doesn't know that and I told her I leave at the end of the week. I was thinking I could stay at a nice hotel outside the city? And then maybe you could come spend the weekend with me? You know, to make it not look suspicious. Then I could get you in that room, and lay you on that bed, and I'll make you feel so good that you won't be able to move for the next few hours."

"I think I'll like that."

"But only if you wear something sexy for me, Baby."

This time it's Serena who grins slyly before pulling the taller woman in for a kiss. "Well how about we take this to the bedroom right now and you give me a little preview of this weekend? Tell me, where is Kim right now, Baby…"

"She's at home probably reading." Abbie replies with an extensive amount of disgust before she claims the blonde's lips in a searing kiss. Just as their tongues meet and things are about to get heated, her cell phone rings, succeeding in breaking their passionate moment.

"Damnit." Abbie hisses before she pulls out her phone. She stares at the call screen and hesitates for a long moment as she sighs and slides her finger across the screen before placing it to her ear. "Hey, what's going on?"

_"Hey…I was wondering when you'd be coming home."_ Kim's voice responds rather tentatively. _"I was thinking about making dinner and since you're not here, it's kind of hard to decide." _

"Dinner? Oh, no, that's fine. I'll just pick something up on my way home. I'll probably be another hour or two."

_"Oh? Where are you right now?" _

"I'm just at the office finishing up some last minute things. I'll try not to take too long."

_ "Oh, okay. Well I'll see you when you get home then…I love you." _

"I…love you too."

Meanwhile, as Kim ends her phone call, she sighs quietly and drops her cell phone back into the pocket of her hoodie. As she leans against the desk in Abbie's empty office her heart slightly sinks when her eyes glaze over their picture of love struck happiness that they took at the start of their relationship.

"So where is she really…"

**Hm….Leave your thoughts? **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know it's been a while on Growing Pains you guys, but please understand that I'm really trying. As I writer, I come up with chapters for stories by working on other stories, that way I can be productive and I can manage to get SOMETHING out. But please understand I really am trying and all I ask is that you be patient with me. **

**Anywho, this chapter…I kind of made Kim a little vulnerable but only for a little while because you know how she is :) enjoy! **

"She won't touch me…" Kim practically groans as she curls into her best friend's arms, seeking comfort. She hesitates for a moment before sighing pitifully, groaning once more.

Serena on the other hand swallows thickly as she runs her fingers soothingly through the other woman's hair. "What do you mean she won't touch you?" she inquires gently.

Kim pulls away briefly before shaking her head. "I mean she won't touch me. I don't know what it is; if I've gotten fat or something, but she just doesn't touch me anymore. She doesn't hold me when we go to bed at night, she barely even kisses me we say good morning or goodnight or those random little moments in between., and to be honest, I can't even remember the time that we've actually had sex, let alone made love. I just wish she'd tell me what I did that's got her like this. I don't know how to fix it if I don't know the problem. Is it me? Am I fat?"

"You're not fat." Alex says firmly as her harsh steely gaze remains focused on the television. Honestly she can't bring herself to look in the direction of the other two, for fear of her tongue lashing out on its own or causing trouble.

"She's right." Serena adds in with a gentle voice. "You're gorgeous, sweetheart. Maybe you just…need to spice up your relationship a little."

Kim makes a face, sitting up to wrap her arms around herself. "And how am I supposed to do that? I can't even get her to talk to me sometimes so how am I supposed to know how to…"

"That's the thing." Alex cuts in, managing to look in their direction for the first time in their movie evening. "You gotta surprise her. Do something sexy."

"You mean like…don't wear a bra?" Kim responds seriously, which in turn causes the two blondes to collectively smack their foreheads. "What?"

"Obviously we need to work on your sexy." Alex responds with a heavy sigh before she taps her fingers together. "I mean sexy like…buy new underwear."

"But I don't need new underwear…"

"She means lingerie, Kim…" Serena speaks up as she shakes her head, sighing as well when she receives a semi blank stare in response. "You know lingerie? Sexy underwear? The kind that-"

Kim's cheek color slightly before she presses her hand against Serena's mouth. "I know what lingerie is. I just…you know...I don't like it to be seen."

"Abbie's your girlfriend Kimberly. If there is anyone that's supposed to see your lingerie, it's her." Alex deadpans with a shake of her head once more. "Clearly you need help with this so tomorrow, we are taking you shopping for new underwear."

"Agreed." Serena nods firmly. "You need underwear that pulls her in, makes her want you. Something that'll make her mouth water and her insides tighten when she sees you in it. Something that'll make her beg for you."

Kim seems to be mulling this over in her mind for a brief moment before she relents and shrugs. "So…lingerie…is that all I'm supposed to do? My idea of sexy is sitting down to read a nice romance novel."

Alex clicks her tongue in disinterest before she turns to face them completely. "You're such a nerd. You always have been." She says with a chuckle. "Sexy is being more comfortable with your sensual sexuality. You need to wear your hair down more. Wearing it up all the time makes you look scary and it reminds me of your mother…who is also scary. Have you ever thought about buying toys? You know…bedroom toys?"

"Toys?" Kim repeats with a frown before realization dawns on her face. "Oh those toys. I-I, okay, to be honest, we used a strap on once, but I really didn't like it all that much. I like the thought of Abbie being able to make love to me without the help of a plastic appendage. Plus, I like seeing women for a reason and that reason is because I don't particularly like the idea of having a dick in my-"

"Hey! We get the picture!" Alex cuts in, holding up her hands with a small blush coloring at her cheeks. "We get the idea, no toys. Here's what I think you should do. She leaves tomorrow right? Buy really sexy lingerie, cook her a really nice meal, then have a romantic dinner that'll get her in the mood. If you do all of those things right, everything should just kinda fall into place after that." she then pauses and sends a discrete and cleverly placed glare Serena's direction before she continues on, keeping her eyes lingering on the other blonde as she says this.

"And make sure to turn off all cell phones. You wouldn't need any _unwanted_ interruptions."

* * *

Meanwhile, Abbie comfortably sips her beer as she lounges across the length of Casey's couch before she sees the redhead return from the kitchen with more snacks. "Ooo, pizza rolls!" she exclaims, leaning forward to pile a few on her place. She pops a few in her mouth and is chewing happily when she notices that the television has been cut off and Casey is staring at her rather intently. "What?"

"We need to talk." Casey begins with a small shrug, digging around in her mind for what she wants to begin with. "I don't exactly have a lot of background information on this so I guess I'll just start with my overall question. What'd you do to Kim?"

"What do you mean what'd I do to her?" Abbie responds rather defensively. "I haven't done anything to her. I mean yeah we've had a few disagreements but I haven't done anything. Why?"

"Well apparently you have because I have Alex coming to me telling me that I need to talk to my 'incompetent' best friend because she's not treating her girl right." Casey recalls with a small shrug that says it's Alex's words, not hers.

Abbie's eyes narrow into dangerously thin slits before she brings her beer bottle back to her lips. "Your girlfriend needs to learn how to stay out of other people's business." She all but growls before taking another healthy swig of her drink. "Look, Alex is probably just blowing things out of proportion like she always does. Everything between me and Kim is fine. You know if it wasn't, you'd be the first person I'd talk to. You trust me right?"

"Yeah….yeah I trust you."

**The Following Day **

"I can't believe you actually followed me in there." Kim grumbles with a heavy blush settling at her cheeks as she and Alex exit the Victoria's Secret in the mall.

"What was I supposed to do?" Alex asks rhetorically before she begins speaking as if following as her only option. "To be honest right now, I couldn't let you go in there by yourself. Who knows what you would've come out with. Plus, I was there for the moral support of things. You know…to ease your tension. And to laugh at you because you blush whenever I say the word panties."

"Shh!" Kim hisses, slamming her hand down over Alex's mouth. "You know I hate it when you say that word. Especially the way you say it. Only you can make such an innocent word sound so dirty. I wish that Serena were here. She usually takes my side on these kinds of things."

Alex feels her heart drastically sink on the inside at the statement. She knows that before she came into the picture, Kim and Serena knew each other for even longer than she had known them, so naturally Kim's trust would be more placed into Serena than herself. It just kills her to know the things that she knows as she continues to fight the internal battle of saying something. Honestly, she still can't even begin to imagine what was going through Serena's head to make her do such a thing.

"Alex?"

"I'm sorry…" the blonde blinks rapidly before managing a small smile. "I got a little lost in my thoughts there for a moment. So how about lunch?"

Kim's face falls almost sadly before she gives a half shrug. "Actually, I'm…I'm kind of already meeting someone here for lunch. Your welcome to stay if you want, but if you don't that's completely fine."

Alex's eyebrows shoot into her hairline before she tilts her head. "What? You're meeting someone for lunch?" she asks before putting her hand to her chest in mock hurt. "Why Kimberly, you mean you have friends other than me? Well I'm just devastated! Who could possibly match up to the awesomeness and prestige of Alexandra Cabot?"

"You are so full of yourself." Kim responds with an eye roll before she nods her head towards the approaching woman, giving her a small smile and a wave in the process. "And if you must know, that's who I'm meeting."

Alex's eyes widen before her jaw drops. "Emily?"

"Alex?" the brunette echoes with just as much shock.

"You two know each other…." Kim deadpans as her lips the fall to a thin, flat line.

"Our mothers know each other." Alex exclaims with a wide smile as she and Emily exchange a friendly hug. "It made for several boring meetings and dinner parties that we had to sit through collectively just to make a 'family appearance'.

Emily chuckles nodding her head in agreement before she notices that look of utter confusion etched across Kim's face. "You see, my mother is an ambassador and she's always doing these…events for lack of a better term. She Senator Cabot have attended more than one function together and Alex and I have bonded several times on the mutual disdain of having to attend said function." She explains before turning back to the blonde. "Will you be joining us for lunch?"

Alex can't help but notice the way the agent's eyes sort of glazed over when landing on her best friend. She recognizes that rather dreamy teenage smile that crossed her face and then suddenly everything hits her like a ton of bricks. And she knows that Kim, being the ever clueless when it comes to these things, is completely oblivious to it.

"Actually, I'm supposed to be meeting Casey for lunch." Alex lies flawless with a convincing smile. "I'll just be going."

"And you'll be taking your shopping with you." Kim states quickly, thrusting the lingerie bag towards Alex with a pleading look on her face. She most definitely does not want to sit through an entire lunch with someone having a bag of underwear sitting at her feet.

Alex understands as she accepts the bag with a nod. "Ah, yes. I'll be taking this. Thank you for holding it. Bye Em. It was great seeing you again. We'll have to do lunch sometime. Give us time to catch up."

"Definitely." The agent responds with a wave before turning to Kim with a rather nervous grin. "So…lunch?"

* * *

Later, Kim finds herself laughing as she and Emily chat and share interests over Italian food. "So do you have any pets? I know that your job can take you away from home a lot, but doesn't it get pretty lonely?"

"Believe it or not, I have a cat." Emily answers with a grin. "I guess that's the typical pet for a person who lives alone, huh? But yeah, I have a cat; his name is Sergio. He's a pretty good cat. He doesn't destroy the furniture and he uses his litter box like he's supposed to. His only flaw is his high maintenance towards only eating premium cat food. What about you? Do you have any pets?"

"No…" Kim responds with a small headshake. "Abbie doesn't really like the idea of pets. She says they're messy and they cost way too much money. I wouldn't mind having a puppy though. I think puppies are really cute."

"So the big bad lawyer has a soft side for puppies." Emily teases with a knowing smirk, her heart soaring when she gets the satisfaction of seeing the other woman blush. She takes a sip of her water before licking her lips, daring to ask her next question. "So…how's your mom?"

Kim immediately frowns at the question before tilting her head. "My mom?"

"Yeah uh, I remember you mentioned that your mom was in the hospital for a really bad car accident. I was wondering if she was doing okay. Or…if that's really too personal for you, you don't have to answer. I probably shouldn't have…"

"No, no, it's not that. It's just…the fact that you remembered and you sound so concerned. Abbie hasn't really asked about her at all since the accident happened." The attorney responds sadly before her eyes cast downward. "Her condition hasn't changed much. To be honest, the doctors don't really have a lot to report. Things are just moving really slow right now, but I'm confident she'll get better. Mom's a real fighter."

Emily responds with an encouraging smile in an effort to cheer up the other woman's hidden sadness. "Well I'm wishing her the best." She says, her face contorting into a frown when she remembers something spoken earlier. "What do you mean Abbie hasn't asked about your mom since the accident? Isn't she your girlfriend? She's supposed to support you…"

"She does she's just...work really gets to her sometimes. And to be honest with the FBI here now, things tend to move a lot slower than usual." Kim snaps in response, immediately wincing when she realizes what she's just said. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to..."

"No, I get it. Believe me, I'm far used to us not receiving local love on these cases." Emily answers with a tiny shrug. "It wasn't really my place to say what I said anyway. I was out of line and I'm sorry. I just…well it bothers me when I think about how she was yelling at you when I walked in that one day. You're really nice and you seem to be going through some things right now and you don't deserve to be spoken to like that. "

"Thank you. But it's really not that big of a deal. She's not always like that, it's just work…"

"Are you defending her?"

"What? No, I'm not I'm just…I'm just saying she has her reasons."

"Are you sure?" Emily questions again with an inquisitively quirked eyebrow to put emphasis on her question.

Kim immediately finds her mouth snapping shut when she realizes that she isn't quite sure at all.

**Later that Evening **

Kim finishes lighting the candles on the table setting before she places the lighter on the counter. She smoothes her hands over her dress when she hears the front door opening, and she steps out into the foyer where she sees her girlfriend shrugging off her jacket. "Hey."

"Hi." Abbie responds as she drops her keys on the counter and immediately begins sniffing the air. "It smells good. Did you cook?"

"Yeah, I made us dinner." Kim confirms with an expectant smile. Her smile falls however when Abbie simply nods and begins to move past her towards the kitchen. "Hey aren't you forgetting something?"

"Huh? What's that?"

"I…bought a new dress."

Abbie raises her eyebrows and is silent for a moment before she nods again. "Oh. It looks nice." She rattles out before spinning on her heel to head into the kitchen.

"I'm also….wearing my hair down." Kim trails off with a sigh, her shoulders slumping a little before she follows Abbie into the kitchen where she has set up a nice romantic dinner for two. "I made your favorite." She explains as she takes a seat in one of the chairs at the table.

"Nice. You have wine too." Abbie says, picking up the plate at the wine glass before turning to head out of the kitchen. She stops and barely suppresses an eye roll when she hears her name again. "What?"

"Where are you going?"

"In the living room to watch television."

Kim drops her hands into her lap before angling her gaze towards her plate. "Well I just thought that we could have dinner together in here. Since we haven't eaten together in a while. That's why I have the candles and the tablecloth and everything…"

Abbie purses her lips tightly before opening her mouth to speak again. "Ah, I would really rather eat in the living room. I'm more comfortable when I eat in there."

"I really would like for us to have dinner together…but if you would like to eat in the living room, that's fine." Kim sighs relenting, shaking her head when the other woman wastes no time leaving the kitchen. She pokes her pasta around for a moment before she settles on cleaning up the rest of the meal, having lost her appetite.

Later into the night, Kim finds herself swallowing thickly as she finds herself standing at the top of the stairs in the silk purple negligee that Alex had coaxed her into buying, complete with the matching lace bra and panties set. Panties. God how she hates that word.

She makes her way down the stairs and over towards the sofa where she sees Abbie reading over a work file, still occasionally sipping on a glass of wine. She turns off the television before sliding onto the sofa, gently prying the file from her lover's hand. Seeing a protest coming on, she slowly leans forwards and silences the raven haired woman with a gentle kiss.

Abbie frowns and immediately manages to pull away from the sudden kiss. "Whoa, wait, what are you doing?" she exclaims, her frown deepening.

"I don't know. I just thought that you and I could spend some time together." Kim purrs seductively, sliding into her girlfriend's lap, straddling her before she claims her lips in a kiss once again. She manages to hold this kiss longer than the first before she hears a grunt of displeasure and hands pushing gently on her shoulders. "What?"

"Look, Kim, I…I don't know what you're trying to do, but not tonight." Abbie replies seriously as she shakes her head. She shifts for a moment before she manages to remove the other woman from her lap and place her back onto the sofa. "I'm not in the mood. I'm sorry if I somehow managed to give you the wrong impression about that, but really. I have to get up early in the morning and drive for four hours and I really need to rest."

Kim clenches her jaw as she immediately looks away. "I understand…" she speaks tightly before standing up from the sofa, heading back over to the stairs. "I'll just…head to bed then."

"I'll join you in a few minutes." Abbie replies, running a hand through her hair before blowing air out, puffing her cheeks. In truth she had thought about sleeping in the guest room for the night, but she supposes that it's the least she could do is to manage sharing a bed.

When she walks into their bedroom, she finds Kim already on her side of the bed with her back turned towards the door as she as the duvet up past her shoulder. She can tell by the atmosphere in the room that she has most definitely not fallen asleep yet. "You're not crying, are you?"

"No." is the crisp clean reply. "I haven't cried for twenty years and I don't plan on starting now."

"I was just asking…" Abbie murmurs in reply as she changes into her pajamas. She slips into her side of the bed and turns out the light, turning so their backs are facing one another without even so much as a goodnight.

Kim purses her lips together when the silence fall upon the room before her face falls again. She turns over only to be met with the back of Abbie's head much like the nights before. She bites her lower lip for a moment before mentally sighing at what she's about to do. "Abbie?"

"Huh?" is the slow reply.

"Will you hold me…?" she asks, mentally swearing at herself when her voice comes out sounding needy and pathetic by her standards, but at the moment she can't help it. Silence follows her question which causes her to furrow her eyebrows. "Please?"

There is more silence before Abbie sighs. "Sure." She relents before she manages to turn onto her back where she opens her arms. "C'mere."

Kim shuffles across the mattress before resting her head onto her girlfriend's shoulder. She feels that same arm wrap around her waist as she places her arm across Abbie's stomach, shuffling into the embrace.

"Goodnight…" she murmurs, only to get silence in response. Even now she can't help but notice that even though Abbie is holding her just like she asked, it just doesn't feel right. Not like it used to.

**Ouch…double ouch…triple ouch…Leave your thoughts? **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I think that I'm liking this story a little more than I should. Isn't that ironic? I write angst, but I bawl like a baby when writing it. Anyway, enjoy.**

"Emily has a crush on you." Alex states out of the blue, breaking the silence between her and the woman sitting across from her at the table.

A small smile flits across Kim's face before it's gone again and she nods her head. "I know."

"You know?"

"Yeah. I'm not stupid Alex. I can tell by the way she blushes whenever she makes me laugh or the way her gaze lingers on me a little longer than most would. I knew she was attracted to me when we first met. Why?"

"No reason in particular. I just think it's cute." Alex responds with a shrug before she quirks her eyebrow in question. "Hey, just out of curiosity, how did things go with Abbie last night? I mean, unless of course such details are too explicit to be spoken at the lunch table."

Kim shakes her head before she sighs in defeat and what looks to be a small tinge of sadness. "No, it's nothing like that." she speaks solemnly before sighing again. "Things…didn't go so well last night. I-I don't think Abbie loves me anymore."

Alex frowns deeply at this before her face turns grave. "What do you mean you don't think she loves you anymore? What happened?"

"What didn't happen?" the brunette exclaims before she drops her head into her hands. "She didn't notice anything different about me when she walked in and she hadn't even spoken two words to me. She didn't compliment my dress or my hair or anything. Then we go into the kitchen and she grabs her plate, about to leave. I stop her and tell her that I thought we should eat together, but she tells me that she would rather eat in the living room. She left me sitting at the table by myself and after that I didn't even have an appetite, so dinner was pretty much ruined. In a last ditch effort to save my evening, I put on the…items,"

"Panties."

"ITEMS, that you had me purchase and I try to be sexy. At least I think I was being sexy. You know I'm not very good at the whole seduction thing. Anyway, she doesn't even want to kiss me Alex. I kissed her and she immediately pulled away. She pushes me away from her and told me that she just wasn't in the mood. I had to basically ask for her to hold me in bed last night and even then she seemed reluctant. She just…she doesn't love me anymore."

"I don't think that's true." Alex speaks softly albeit sadly for her own personal reasons. "Maybe she just…has some things going on right now that she doesn't want you to worry about." Well at least that's almost the truth.

Kim shakes her head once more before she absentmindedly begins stabbing the lettuce of her salad. "I just don't know what I can do anymore. Alex I…I don't want her to leave me. I love her. I don't want her to leave but I don't know how to fix what's broken if she won't talk to me. God, sometimes it's like she can't even look at me. Is that it? Am I just disgusting to look at? Because I am, I can't imagine why no one has said-"

"Kim stop." Alex snaps firmly, her tone shifting into that 'don't interrupt me' tone. "The reason no one has told you that is because it's not true. You're gorgeous and I think somewhere deep down, you know that you're gorgeous. Nothing is wrong with you. I'm sure that Abbie has her reasons for acting the way that she is and unfortunately, you're just going to have to let things play out on their own. You can't force anything."

"I just…wish I knew what I did wrong…so I can fix it."

"Maybe it's not you who has done something wrong…"

**Meanwhile…**

"I'm telling you, he looked exactly like Hannibal Lector." JJ exclaims as she stabs her straw through the lid of her smoothie. She and Emily have decided that they need to take a frozen fruit blend break after having to interview a rather sketchy witness who left chills running down their spines.

"He was pretty creepy." Emily replies, bringing her drink to her lips before she fails to suppress a shudder. "He was scarier than one unsub who embalmed women while they were alive."

"Yeah, or that one who kidnapped women and made them into her own human Barbie dolls."

"Or that one who's accomplice hit you with the shovel right before she was gonna take all your blood."

JJ pauses before shaking her head. "Not a memory I would like to realize." She deadpans before turning her attention back to her smoothie. "Let's just walk around for a bit. I'm not really in a hurry to get back right now. We have a few minutes."

Emily nods her head and hums in agreement. She glances around the small shopping areas, noticing the numerous people shopping, chatting and just simply going about their day. She only pauses when she sees a very recognizable brunette with her arms wrapped around a strange woman that she can't recognize. The only thing she can see is the back of her head well enough to know she's a blonde. She begins to turn away and think nothing of it, only when she sees Abbie place a kiss on the other woman's lips.

"What?" JJ speaks up, glancing around for the thing that has causes her best friend to suddenly intake a small amount of air.

"N-nothing…nothing. I thought I saw something." Emily shakes her head with a small murmur. She looks up in time again to see Abbie grin and wrap her arm around the woman's waist before the couple disappears into a jeweler.

_ 'I gotta tell Kim…'_

* * *

Later on that day Emily finds herself anxiously twiddling her thumbs and pacing in front of the park bench as she waits. To be honest waiting has never really been her strong suit and when anxiety is added to the mix, she just turns into this gigantic mess.

"I don't even know how I'm supposed to do this…" She mutters aloud, not even noticing the sudden appearance of her guest.

"Do you always talk to yourself?" Kim questions smugly with a smirk tugging at her lips. Her smirk only fades when she sees the look of distress halfway etched across the agent's face. "So…what's going on?"

Emily rubs at the bag of her neck before shrugging. "I…thanks for meeting me here. I didn't mean to interrupt your run." She says, motioning towards the attorney's attire. "I just…we need to talk."

Kim blinks several times before slowly lowering herself down onto the park bench. "Okay…." She responds slowly, tilting her head in confusion. "Again I ask…what's going on?"

Emily seems to be mulling things over in her mind for a moment before she huffs greatly. "Uh, well…where is Abbie right now? Do you know where she is?" she asks carefully before biting down on her lower lip.

"Uh, yeah. Our boss sent her out on a short business trip. She should be back in a few days or so…why?"

"Well…because…earlier today I was with my partner in a little town just outside the city for interviewing a witness. While we were walking through the town square I saw Abbie there…with another woman."

Kim's eyes seem to widen in shock briefly before her face contorts into a deep scowl of confusion. "What do you mean 'saw her with another woman'…"

"I mean I saw her there with another woman." Emily repeats, wincing before she continues on. "I saw her kissing this woman."

There is a moment of heavy intense silent before Kim manages to respond. "You're lying." She says flatly, in an eerily calm voice.

Emily frowns immediately at this, practically shocked into her silence. "What?"

"You're lying." Kim speaks once again shaking her head. "I don't believe you."

"What? What do you-I'm telling the truth. I wouldn't like to you."

"Of course. Now tell me, what did this woman look like?"

"Look like? I-I don't know! I didn't get to see her very well! But I know that I saw Abbie! The only thing I know about the woman with her was that she had blonde hair!"

Kim rolls her eyes before she shoots off of the bench and folds her arms defiantly. "Oh brilliant! So now not only are you lying to me, you can't even come up with suitable information about this mystery woman you're accusing my girlfriend of being with. Look I know that you're jealous but I didn't think that you had the potential to go this low."

Emily shakes her head vigorously as she stands up as well, lightly placing her hands on the attorney's shoulders, but not the least bit surprised when she snatches away. "I'm not lying! Wait…what do you mean jealous?"

"I know that you have a crush on me Emily." Kim deadpans with a subtle 'duh' tone underlying in her words.

"Crush? I…okay, I'll admit, I do have a bit of a crush on you…but I really wouldn't lie about this. Honest. What reason do I have to lie to you?"

"You tell me? You're the one that's lying. Look, I don't even want to deal with this right now. I have to go."

"Kim please. I'm begging you. Just listen to me. I know I saw her."

"Goodbye Emily."

"Kim wait! I…" Emily trails off, dropping her hand pitifully by her side as the other woman continues to walk away from her. "I'm telling the truth…"

**A Few Days Later**

"You know she tried to get me to sleep with her the night before I left." Abbie hums as she breaks their passionate kiss and settles her hands on Serena's hips. "She had this candlelight dinner set up and I even think she actually went through the trouble of buying new lingerie before she tried to seduce me."

"She's getting desperate. It's starting to become extremely pathetic." Serena chuckles darkly with a devious smirk tugging at her lips. "I think I'm actually starting to pity her. I've never seen her try so hard. It makes her look vulnerable and weak. I love it."

"You're so sexy when you're like this." Abbie husks, growling slightly when her lover playfully nips at her lower lip. "Ooo, she bites too."

"Only when you push me to it. But back to Kim." Serena hums before her rather sinister smirk returns. "I want to see her suffer. I want her at her weakest and most vulnerable state. Since I pity her so much, I think that it's only fair that you fuck her before you dump her sorry ass. That way it'll hurt more when you do."

At this, Abbie arches an eyebrow before she tilts her head in question. "You're giving me permission to have sex with her? I don't even want to touch her Serena…"

"Well fine. You don't _have_ to, of course. I was only trying to be generous. I thought it would be nice of me to reward her for trying oh so hard."

"Yeah, but that'd be hell for me. I stopped having sex with her for a reason."

"Because I helped you realize that I'm much better." Serena purrs before pressing their lips together in a searing kiss once again. She scowls deeply when they are interrupted by a shrill ringing. "Damnit."

Abbie sighs heavily and shrugs a brief apology before she brings her phone to her ear. "Hello?" she greets, only to sigh a moment later. "Hey Kim…"

"Hey…um. I just wanted to call and check on you. How is your trip going?"

"It's going fine. Listen, did you need something in particular?"

Kim's end of the line is silent for a moment. "No, not really. I can't call just to hear your voice?"

"It's not that, but it's just I'm really busy." Abbie responds, barely succeeding in suppressing a small yelp when Serena starts nipping at her neck. "Extremely busy."

"I understand. I just…well, I wanted to call and tell you that I love you, okay? You really mean a lot to me and I just wanted to let you know that. I'm really looking forward to you coming home. I know things haven't been all that great between us lately, but I really would like for us to try and fix things. See I was holding out on telling you this because I didn't think you would care all that much, but my mom didn't make it Abbie. She died almost an hour ago from right now. I didn't want to bother you on your trip because I figured it wouldn't matter. But I just…well I had to tell you. I haven't cried since I got the phone call from my sisters, and I'm starting to wonder if that makes me a bad person. Maybe I just still don't believe it. I don't exactly know why I'm telling you all of this, but I guess part of it is that I just really wish you were here right now. I really need you to be here to hold me even though I know you don't want to. I don't know what it is about me that's gotten you so repulsed, but I'm sorry that I haven't been enough. Let me know what I can do to make it better okay? Anyway, I'll let you go and get back to your work because I know you're very busy. And I'll see you when you get home."

Before Abbie can even think about coming up with a response, the line goes dead. She places her phone on the bedside table and remains silent as she continues to stare up at the ceiling.

"What did she want?" Serena hums, distastefully before turning serious. "Abbie? What did she want?"

Abbie blinks for several moments before shaking her head. "She…she didn't want anything."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kim places her phone down on the coffee table before looking up at the only person she feels comfortable enough with being around right now. "She…she was busy." She whispers sadly, willing herself not to cry though it's becoming more and more difficult by the minute.

Alex takes a deep breath, almost looking sick to the stomach as she wraps her arms tightly around herself. "Kim I…I didn't want to do this, but it's getting harder and harder not to and after your phone call I just…well…there's something I need to tell you…" she begins before taking a much needed breath when she sees a look of expectancy in response. "But first, do you trust me?"

Kim frowns in response, responding immediately. "Of course I trust-"

"Do you trust me, Kimberly." Alex repeats firmly with hard eyes.

"Of course I trust you Alex. I trust you with my life. You're like a sister to me."

Alex simply licks her lips before nodding her head. "It's about Abbie. She…Liz didn't send her on any kind of business trip…" she begins, jumping when a loud crash of thunder hits outside. "She's been seeing someone else behind your back Kim. She's…she's been seeing Serena."

Kim feels as if all of the air has been knocked of her at once before she forces herself to look away. After a long moment of silence she shakes her head vigorously before managing to look back. "No. You're wrong. It's…it's a misunderstanding."

"Kim, I know you want to lead yourself to believe that, but it's the truth. I had Olivia follow Serena and she found them together. I have pictures if you don't believe me. Not only that, but Serena told me herself." Alex finishes flatly. "They've been sleeping together."

"Don't lie to me Alex. I don't like it when people lie."

"How long have you known me Kimberly. How long have you and I been friends. I was nine and you were how old?"

"I-I was six. I-I thought you were really cool because you were almost ten and I had never had an older friend before. I looked up to you because you were one of the big kids. You could ride a bike without training wheels."

"That's right, and how did I treat you? What did I always say to you?"

"You said that I was going to be your little sister because you had always wanted one and you told me you liked me better than Serena. You stuck up for me when kids picked on me and you made them go away when they would laugh at me. You taught me how to ride a bike and you were there every time I fell on to make sure I got up and tried again even when I wanted to give up. I remember that awkward moment when we were teenagers and you let me kiss you because you had kissed people before and I hadn't and I wanted to know what it was like to kiss someone for the first time."

"And I have never gone anywhere since then. Knowing all of that, would I really stand here and lie to you about this?" Alex asks firmly once again.

Kim snaps her mouth shut before she shakes her head. "She's been cheating on me…" she whispers, her words coming out as more of a statement rather than a question. "She's been cheating on me and Serena's been helping her do it. And the scary thing is, I can't even run to my mother and have her tell me that everything will be okay, because it's not. It's not going to be okay. My mother is dead and the woman I love has been sleeping with my best friend. What am I supposed to do right now?"

Alex raises her eyebrows as she quickly scoots next to Kim on the sofa and lightly presses her fingers against the brunette's cheeks. "Kim, honey you're…"

"Crying? Yeah I noticed." Kim sniffles in response, viciously wiping at her eyes only for more of the dreaded 'emotional waters' as she calls them reappear. She manages to hold herself together before a strangled sob escapes her lips and the floodgates then proceed to burst open.

Alex feels her own heart break as she scoots across the sofa and wraps her little sister in her arms as the room is filled with sobs of distress and heartache. To be honest she has never once seen Kim like this and now she knows why. Twenty years of bottled emotions were bound to come out at some point. She just hates that it was in this way.

**When writing these stories where these three are friends, I always seem to give Alex the stronger relationship with Serena, so I thought I would change it up with time. Leave your thoughts? **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Don't worry, I shall answer all of your questions in due time :) enjoy.**

Abbie hums quietly to herself as she makes her way back to her apartment. To be completely honest, she's thoroughly bummed that she had to end her nice weekend away, but the brewing hurricane had forced her to cut her trip a little short.

She shuffles her bag into her left hand before she then proceeds to unlock the door. As she steps over the threshold, she is a little surprised to find Kim sitting on the couch with her knees to her chest as she stares blankly at the blank television set. To Abbie, it's a scary sigh, simply because she's never seen Kim like this before.

"Hey uh, I'm back." Abbie speaks up awkwardly as she drops her bag by the couch. She stands still for a moment waiting for a response, carefully proceeding when she doesn't receive one. "Are you doing alright? I'm really sorry about your mom…Kim?"

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Kim asks softly, her voice quiet and hoarse from all of the tears that she's shed. "Were you ever going to tell me you were sleeping with my best friend?"

Abbie pales about three shades as her face drops and her throat goes dry. She swallows thickly, attempting to regain some of the moisture in her mouth though her words seem to fail her. "Kim…" is all she manages to say before her heart plummets.

Kim shakes her head before she finally turns and makes eye contact, her eyes shining with more unshed tears. "Is that where you were while you were gone? Were you with her?" she asks, only to receive silence in response. "Answer me!"

"I-I was…" Abbie admits sadly as she drops her head. "I-I don't know what to say right now other than I'm sorry that you found out this way."

"You're sorry that I found out this way but you're not sorry that you broke my heart." Kim snorts mirthlessly before she shoots off of the sofa and begins to pace. "Damnit, Abbie, I've done everything for you! I've always done everything for you because I loved you and I thought you loved me. But I guess I was wrong. I don't…I don't understand why you had to do this to me. If you didn't love me then you should have told me. If you didn't want to be with me, then why were you? Why didn't you just leave me behind and move on like you wanted? Why did you stay and continue to lie to me day after day? Why were you punishing me?"

"I didn't know how to tell you…I wanted to but I couldn't bring myself to break up with you. It was just too hard and you wouldn't leave me so I didn't know what else to do. What was happening between me and Serena, I didn't want you to find out whatever way you did. I wanted to tell you, but I was just never ready to tell you. Then you called me and told me your mother died and I just…I'm sorry that it happened like this. I got bored with our relationship. That spark that was there when first met just kind of fizzled out and I didn't know how to handle that. I wasn't looking for anyone else, but then Serena came along, and things just happened. At first I thought it was a onetime thing, but then it kept happening and it led to this. I'm sorry."

"Out of everyone you could have been sleeping with, you chose to sleep with my best friend. The thing is…you win either way, because I'm the one with the broken heart right now. Before we started dating you promised my mother you wouldn't break my heart and I promised her that I wouldn't let you. Now I feel like I've lied to her and I've let her down and I can't even tell her that I'm sorry. She is gone Abbie and she's not coming back. I have lost the one person who knows me better than I know myself and right now I feel like a large piece of me is missing. Now here you are shattering the rest of me. I just want to know what I did to deserve this."

"You didn't do anything…it's my fault." Abbie speaks seriously. "Look, Serena is just…she's…"

"Better than me?" Kim finishes off with a tilt of her head before she folds her arms. "Did you bring her here? Did you ever fuck her in our bed? Is that why you hate sleeping next to me? Because I'm not her? Is that why you hate kissing me, touching me, and holding me; because I'm not her? Is that why you completely stopped making love to me, all because I'm not her?"

Abbie squeezes her eyes shut and roughly drags her fingers through her hair. The harsh patter of the rain outside accompanied with the thunder claps is doing absolutely nothing for her nerves. "I didn't love you anymore, Kim." She breaths heavily. "I…I don't love you. Not like that…not anymore."

"We made plans together Abbie. We've been together almost two years! It would be two years a week from tomorrow! Up until a month ago we were talking about our future! You told me you wanted to give me the wedding of my dreams and then you wanted our honeymoon to be on an island, so you could make love to me on the beach as the sunset. We talked about children, we talked about everything! I had plans for a life with you! But you…you didn't even love me. Why did you do all that if you didn't love me?"

"I don't know why I did it. I'm sorry…" Abbie repeats once again. "I'm sorry my feelings for you changed but you just…you weren't worth anything to me anymore."

Kim's hurt expression falls completely as the heaviness of those words ring in the air. She could hardly deal with Abbie telling her that she didn't love her but what she cannot take is being told that she isn't worth anything. She shakes her head before she pushes past her now ex lover and bolts out of the apartment. Even as she makes it outside, though the rain feels like icy pin needles stabbing her body repeatedly, it's a pain more welcome than the one she's feeling on the inside.

**Meanwhile…**

"You know, only you and I would decide to have ice cream sundaes the day a hurricane is supposed to blow through." Casey calls out from the living room having settled comfortably onto the sofa.

"Yeah…" Alex replies quietly from the kitchen before she sticks two spoons into their respective bowls. She examines Casey's sundae for a little while longer before she takes a much needed deep breath and heads into the kitchen.

The redhead looks up upon seeing her girlfriend returning to the living room with their treats as a smirk spreads across her face. "Did you make it right this time?" she teases before scooting over on the sofa far enough to make room for Alex. "You know how I like the cherry."

Alex smiles nervously as she sits down and presents Casey with the frozen dessert. "I kind of used something different this time, instead of the cherry, but I hope that you'll like it just as much?"

Casey quirks her eyebrows in confusion before she takes the bowl. As soon as she takes it, her eyes are immediately drawn to the extravagant, and expensive looking multi karat diamond ring nestled carefully at the top of the whipped cream, where her beloved chair is supposed to be.

"Alex…" she finds herself completely speechless. She places a hand to her mouth before she looks up to find her girlfriend staring back at her with a an expectant, and slightly fearful expression. "Is this?"

"Y-yeah," the blonde stammers, cursing herself as her voice comes out in pitiful squeaks and fails her miserably. "I-I, well I'm not the best at uh, at coming up with romantic things or ideas and I um I sat for a long while trying to gather my nerves and well I-I came up with this because I thought it would be nice and well…see, I, um, I really love you Casey, more than anything and I just…well, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I was hoping you would be blessed if you could give me that honor…so I guess I just…well, I'm trying to ask if you…will you marry me?"

Casey blinks away her tears as she nods her head and lunges into her lover's unsuspecting arms. "Yes! God yes!" she squeals, pressing their lips flush together.

"Y-yes?" Alex stammers, shocked, "Y-you mean y-you'll marry me?"

"Yes, I'll marry you." Casey whispers, pulling her fiancée into a passionate kiss as their ice creams sit forgotten on the coffee table.

* * *

Emily groans irritably as she squints to see through the heavily pounding rain as it beats against her windshield. Honestly, this is the first and the very last time that she will get caught going out during any kind of thunderstorm after dark. Not only can she not see, but she's ninety percent sure that she streets are starting to flood.

As she continues to slowly and carefully guide the SUV through the rain, her mind can't help but wander back to the conversation she had with Kim a few days go. Though, she can hardly classify that as a conversation. Before then she and the attorney seemed to have struck up a budding friendship, calling each other at random ours of the day just to talk, going out to lunch, just talking a nice stroll through the park. It was all very nice, even if for Emily, feelings were starting to become more than just friendly.

She really hates that Kim didn't believe her because she knows what she saw. She hates it even more because she feels like she has just ruined any chance of a growing friendship. And while Emily feels like she would want things to progress a little more, she can be very content with just friendship. But now she's not even sure if she can even get so much as that.

Grunting again out of frustration at the rain, the agent frowns deeply when the headlights catch something peculiar. Emily squints as she peers out of the driver's side window, only barely to make out the silhouette of a person, curled up on a bus stop bench. As she looks closer, the stranger's identity becomes easily recognizable.

"Oh no." she murmurs, putting the SUV into park before she leaps out of her seat. The immediate onslaught of the rain is a lot worse than she first thought as she has to put her hand against her forehead to shield her eyes to see. "Kim!"

Her voice gets lost in the rain and her boots slosh again the flooded streets of New York as she trudges her way over to the bench. Her heart rate increases when she receives no kind of response and she can't even begin to imagine how someone can sit in the monsoon like rain, not to mention it's damn near freezing cold.

Knowing something must be wrong, Emily slips her arms underneath the other woman's legs, picking her up bridal style, before quickly making her way back to the SUV. "Don't worry, I've got you." she pants, as she opens the passenger side door and gently places Kim in the seat before buckling the seat belt.

Praying that she doesn't seem like a creep in the long run, Emily makes the slow crawl back to her hotel, where she once again scoops the attorney into her arms and all but runs in from the rain. She ignores the questionable stares from the hotel staff and guests as she quickly moves into the elevator and presses the number for her floor, praying that none of her team is out of their rooms when she gets up there. She doesn't have time for questions.

In the elevator ride, Emily looks down at the woman in her arms and can't help but feel her heart break immediately. Granted, she hasn't exactly known Kim that long, but in the short time that she has, Emily is sure that she hasn't seen her so broken. It isn't until then that she realizes that Kim is shivering silently, which isn't a surprise considering she was sitting out in the rain for god knows how long.

The lift ding once it reaches the eleventh floor and Emily quickly exits the elevator. Her boots squish and squeak loudly as she makes her way down the hall, leaving a trail of water behind from their soaking wet clothes. She inserts her card key into her door and pushes it open with her foot before ushering the two of them inside.

She makes her way into the bathroom where she seats Kim on the toilet seat and takes a much needed deep breath. "I-I'm sorry if me bringing you here is a little weird, but I don't know where you live and I kind of panicked." She explains, only to receive silence as a response once more. She bites her lip and disappears into the room once again before she returns with a pair of her own pajamas. "You need to get out of those wet clothes. Here are some dry ones and a towel. I'll leave you in here to change while I go change in the other bathroom, then maybe we can talk about what's going on."

Kim once again says nothing and Emily can only nod her head before she exits the bathroom, gently closing the door behind her. She sighs and shakes her head as the thunder seems to be moving closer and closer with each boom, signaling the oncoming sets of storms. As she moves into the other bathroom to change, her mind keeps coming up with possible scenarios as to why Kim was sitting out in the rain alone; none of them being good.

When she exits the bathroom, Emily is a little surprised to find Kim seated on the sofa in front of the television, clad in the pajamas that were given to her. As she makes her way over, Emily notices that the attorney is still shivering and she grabs a throw blanket from her bed before wrapping it around the attorney's shoulders, joining her on the sofa.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the agent speaks gently after a comfortable moment of silence. She once again isn't surprised when she doesn't get a response right away so she settles on letting Kim take her time.

"She was cheating on me…" is the quietly spoken statement after probably five minutes of silence. Kim shakes her head, still not blinking as she stares at the wall in front of her. "She was really cheating on me."

"Kim, I…I'm sorry."

"She was cheating on me with my best friend. She told me…she told me she didn't love me anymore. She…she told me that I wasn't worth anything."

Emily's saddened face morphs into a small scowl before she moves closer to Kim on the couch. "Hey, that's not true." She begins softly. "You're worth a lot. You're beautiful, and intelligent, and funny, and talented. You're tons of things that are worth far more than most."

"But not enough for Abbie to love me." Kim mumbles, shaking her head once more before she turns and makes eye contact with Emily. "I'm sorry I yelled at you when you tried to tell me."

"You didn't yell at me. It wasn't my place to say so I guess I kind of deserved it."

"No you didn't. Because you were telling me the truth. You were only trying to protect me."

"Because I care about you." Emily admits softly. She hesitates for a moment before she gently pulls the other woman into her arms. "You're still shivering."

Kim tenses for a moment before she relaxes into the comforting embrace. "Thank you for saving me." she whispers before more tears fall from her eyes. She can't bring herself to tell Emily about her mother. Not yet. Mostly because she still can't believe it herself. Kim knows that she's broken, but what she doesn't know is she has just found the one thing that can put her back together.

**I was holding off on the Casandra because I wanted to put it in at the right time. There's a reason I waited, anyway. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Leave your thoughts! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I really like this story…hehe, enjoy. **

"I did as you asked." Abbie states as she shoves her hands into her pockets. "She found out about us, but I told her the truth about how I felt about her. She didn't…take it well, but I guess that was suspected."

"You sound like you feel bad." Serena hums as she brings her wine glass to her lips and takes a sip from the ruby colored liquid. "Do I sense remorse for what you've done?"

Abbie thinks for a moment before she shrugs and drops her head. "I…I don't know. I guess it's just…well, her mom just died and that's gotta be really hard on her right now. Finding out about you and I at this exact moment really doesn't help any. I guess I just feel bad for her."

"Don't. She doesn't need your pity." Serena snaps before she continues on with a tilt of her head. "Did you tell her everything that I told you to tell her? Just like we had talked about and planned?"

"Sort of…I didn't tell her everything. I just kind of summarized. I actually didn't get to flat out tell her that we can't be together anymore, because she ran away. I don't know where she went after that. I went outside to look for her but I-"

"You went and looked for her? And pray tell, what would you have done if you had found her? Pulled her into your arms and let her cry while you apologized endlessly? Leave her be."

Abbie frowns before her lips form into a perfect thin line. "Serena, her mother just died. At least show a tiny bit of compassion. Especially since you've known her mother since you were a child. I would at least think you would be mourning as well."

Serena snorts bitterly before shaking her head. "Well you thought wrong."

"I just don't know what you want me to do Serena." Abbie exclaims with an exasperated sigh and a headshake of her own.

"I'll tell you what you can do," Serena begins before bringing her glass to her lips once again. "You can get what little stuff that you have here and you can get out."

Abbie's head snaps up at this as her frown of confusion seems to be deepening by the second. "What?"

"You heard me. Get out." The blonde concludes with a sinister smirk spreading across her face.

"Serena, what the hell? What are you even saying right now?" Abbie exclaims with widened eyes. "What about us?"

Serena chuckles and it comes out as dark and mischievous replicated the laugh of the villain in a horror movie. "I don't need you here anymore. I've got what I wanted."

Abbie's eyes widen to impossible sizes before she drops her hands by her sides as everything dawns on her. "This was never about me, was it?" she questions, though it seems to be halfway rhetorical.

"That's a girl. Look who is finally starting to put things together." Serena purrs with her same sinister grin. "You've just proven to me that you're not as stupid as I thought, though honestly, I can't exactly say that it's by much. But I'm not surprised that my plan worked. That's why I put it in to action."

"You were using me. I don't understand. Why did you do this?"

"My reasoning for doing this to you in particular is because a certain redhead is a lot denser and has far more willpower than you do. I honestly got bored and I tired of that easily. So I moved on to a much easier task, and your stupidity helped me pull it off. My overall reasoning? Is because I am sick of the self righteous, egotistical brats that I used to call friends. I am sick of them walking about as if they are god's gift to mankind. I'm tired of them living their perfect little lives while I'm stuck in their glorious shadows just like I have been all my life."

"So you're jealous." Abbie states with a disapproving shake of her head before she begins to pace in a circle and drag her fingers through her hair. "Oh god, I can't believe I've been so stupid."

"I wonder that myself." Serena responds with a shrug as she crosses her arms over her chest. "It surprises me greatly, but at the same time, it doesn't. It was just so easy it's almost unbelievable. But now that I've gotten what I want, I'm done with you and I no longer need you here. Get out."

Abbie shakes her head in disbelief before shoves her hands into her pockets again. "You really are a bitch. But you'll get what's coming to you in the future. I'm sure of that." she states before leaving, all the while murmuring to herself about her mistakes.

"I've already gotten away with it." Serena hums with another dark chuckle. She locks the door and pours herself another well deserved glass of wine, reminiscing on just how easy this was.

**Several Months Prior **

_ "You really didn't have to stay and help me with this. I really don't want to keep you here this long." Abbie says seriously as she opens the lid of one of the plethora of boxes sitting about her office. Unfortunately a case has called for her to hunt for a specific piece of evidence herself, which means that she probably won't be leaving anytime soon. _

_ Serena shrugs nonchalantly as she too continues to look through one of the boxes. "It's no problem. It's not as if I had anything waiting for me at home anyway. What's spending time with a bunch of boxes full of pointless information for a few hours." _

_ Abbie nods before she sighs. "Yeah. Kim and I usually have movie night this day though so I'm pretty bummed that I'm going to be missing out on that. We usually curl up with popcorn and ice cream while we watch whatever we want to watch; though I usually let her pick the movies." _

_ "You really love her, huh?" Serena inquires with an innocent tilt of her head. _

_ "Yeah." Abbie responds as a dreamy, love struck smile spreads across her lips. "She's really amazing. My favorite trait about her is that she has the extremely cute, adorable side to her that she doesn't want anyone else to see. It just means a lot to me that she opens up to me like she does." _

_ Serena simply hums in response as she turns her attention back to her box. As the minutes turn into hours, she briefly looks up every now and again towards her boss who seems to have busied herself with her own sense of work. She can't help but notice that the brunette is starting to rub her eyes every few minutes and she smiles as she sets things into action. _

_ "You seem to be getting pretty tired." She states standing up and stretching out her limbs. "How about I go make us some coffee?" _

_ "That'd be great." Abbie replies with a tired smile. "Two sugars, one crème please." _

_ "Gotcha." The blonde nods before exiting the office. She walks through the halls of the empty DA's office as she makes her way to one of the break rooms. _

_ She instantly brews two manageable cups of coffee before adding two sugars and one crème to one. She instinctively glances over her shoulder, though she knows she would hear someone coming before she pulls a tiny plastic bag from her pocket. She eyes the crushed substance in the bag briefly before she carefully empties it into Abbie's coffee. She stirs the contents into the drink, making sure it has dissolved completely before she picks up the two cups and returns to her task. _

_ "Sorry, I forgot how stupid our coffee maker is. We should really invest in a new one." Serena states, offering the intended cup to the brunette before taking a seat on the edge of the desk. _

_ "Yeah, that'll be the day." Abbie chuckles humorously before bringing her cup to her lips, humming appreciatively as she downs her favorite drink. "God, that's good. I guess I needed this more than I thought." _

_ Serena simply offers a small smile before she slides off of the desk and crosses the room, back towards her share of the boxes. She returns to doing her work, subtly keeping an eye on the brunette every now and again. Fortunately on her side, she doesn't have to wait too long, because about a half hour later, things start to take effect. _

_ Abbie groans and shakes her head as she feels like her brain has been replaced with about a thousand cotton balls and it's becoming a daunting task to keep her head up. Honestly, when did it start to get about a thousand degrees hotter, and ten times brighter in this room? _

_ "Are you alright? You don't look so good." Serena questions with innocent concern as she crosses the room and places her hand against Abbie's forehead. _

_ "I, ah, wha…" Abbie mumbles, her words coming out slightly slurred and disoriented as everything starts to become a haze. "I don't…I…ugnh." _

_ Serena gently strokes her fingers down the brunette's cheek before tilting her chin upwards. "You're really hot, you know that?" she whispers before leaning in to place a lingering kiss to the other woman's lips. _

_ Abbie frowns before she slowly pulls away and shakes her head though it feels like it weighs about a thousand pounds. "Yhu, shouln't do that…" she mumbles, her head rolling to the side. "I-I wif sum one an'. Kim…Kim 'ill be mad…" _

_ "She won't have to know." the blonde whispers seductively before stealing another lingering kiss. _

_ "I dn't fell suh ghud," Abbie rambles, slumping in her chair._

_ Serena grins wickedly as she aids the brunette in standing from her chair. "C'mon, let's get you home."_

_ "Yhu'll take, meh thu Kim?"_

_ "Yeah. That's where we're going." _

_ The following morning, Abbie groans quietly as the sun wreaks a heavy assault on her eyes. She forces herself to open her eyes with everything taking a minute or so to fully come into focus out of her blurry vision. When things become slightly clearer, she notices that this is most definitely not her bedroom at home and she looks down to find a head of blonde hair resting soundly on her chest. Oh no. _

_ "Fuck." She croaks, her voice hoarse and dry leaving her throat feeling raw as she shifts and realizes her clothes are scattered in various places about the room. She makes an attempt to move from the bed but she fails miserably as the other woman begins to stir slightly. _

_ "Hmm, good morning." Serena hums with a dreamy smile as she rests her chin on Abbie's shoulder. "Did you sleep well"_

_ "Honestly, I feel like crap." Abbie admits as she rubs her forehead for mental emphasis on her pounding headache. "What even happened last night?" _

_ "Well, let's just say that you and I spent a lot of valuable time together." Serena grins widely. "And I found out that you are in fact a very, very good lover." _

_ Abbie's eyes widen and she shakes her head which only causes her to be more dizzy when she once again attempts to scoot out of the bed. "Oh god, we did. I can't believe I…" she trails off, dropping her head into her hands only to groan some more. "Oh god, I can't believe I did that. How could I do this. Look, Serena, I don't remember anything from last night and I guess we got drunk and I'm sorry, but this was a mistake. I have to tell Kim." _

_ Serena frowns deeply before she grabs Abbie's wrist and shakes her head. "No you don't have to. She never has to know about this. Last night proved that you and I are far more compatible than you could be with her." _

_ "That's…that's not true. I love her and I won't do this." Abbie says firmly before pulling away to finally get out of bed. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."_

_ Serena remains in her bed, clutching her sheets to her chest as a dark glint crosses her eyes and an evil smirk spreads across her face. The seed has now been planted, now all she has to do is tend to it._

Now as she sits with that same sinister smirk, Serena chuckles darkly and shakes her head as she once again comes to terms with just how easy her plan was. She takes a sip of wine before raising her glass in self praise.

"A toast to Me."

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready to be here? You didn't have to come." Emily says gently though seriously as she follows Kim down the hall towards her office.

"I would have to come at some point." Kim responds with a tiny shrug before she stops abruptly and offers the agent a small smile. "Thank you for bringing me here this morning. And thank you for spending time with me this past weekend. I really needed someone at it was nice to have you there."

Emily blushes heavily and shrugs trying to keep her cool, though she fails to manage the giddy grin spreading across her face. "I'm glad I could be there. You'll let me know if you need anything, alright? Please? Even if you just need someone to come sharpen your pencils, I'll be here."

Kim actually giggles before she nods her head and manages another smile. "Thank you. I'll see you later." She answers, completely not expecting the gentle kiss placed on her cheek, though it doesn't go unwelcomed. Unfortunately, it leaves a light dusting of pink across her cheeks which draws the attention of a certain nosy blonde.

"Please tell me you realize you just giggled." Alex states with faux seriousness and genuine shock as she raises her eyebrows.

Horror dawns on Kim's face as she claps a hand over her mouth. "Oh my god, did I really?"

"Like a school girl who just saw her teen heartthrob in person."

"Oh god…I wish the floor would have opened up and swallowed me whole."

"There's that spunk I've missed." Alex speaks gently before dropping her voice. "How are you doing?"

Kim sighs before she shrugs. "I'm…I'm not going to lie and say that I'm fine because I'm not. I guess I'm still trying to come to terms with things so I'm going to need a while." She explains. "Is she here?"

Alex hesitates for a moment as she bites the inside of her cheek. "It depends on which 'she' you're referring to. If you're referring to Serena, she is not here. If you're talking about Abbie, she's been pent up in her office all morning."

"Good. I don't think I can look at her just yet. I'm not sure if I'll cry again or slap her."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Casey is seething about what happened, and she's dying to separate her head from her shoulders."

"Gee, I didn't know Casey cared about me that much." Kim speaks honestly as she rubs at the back of her neck.

"You're like my little sister, which means that you're really important to me." Alex begins truthfully before continuing. "Casey has made it clear that everything and everyone that is a priority in my life is a priority in hers. She'll do anything for you."

"You really do have the best girlfriend ever…"

"Yeah…well, now I have the best fiancée ever."

Kim's eyes widen in shock and she stays silently for a brief moment. "You did it?" she questions, grinning when she receives a nod in response. "Oh my gosh Ali, finally! And she said yes too? Wow! Congratulation!" she exclaims, pulling away wearing a slightly sad smile though she tries to cover it up. "I'm really happy for you. Why didn't you tell me?"

Alex mulls this over in her head for a moment before she shrugs. "With the shit with Abbie and then Mama Brenda passing away, I didn't want you to have to worry about me. I know you have a lot going through your mind and my engagement shouldn't have been something you needed to worry about."

"Really it's fine. I could've used some good news." Kim responds with a sigh. "The funeral is this weekend. Do you think you'll be able to make it?"

"Of course. I wouldn't send you by yourself and leave you with your twelve siblings." Alex teases trying to lighten the moment.

"I only have six."

"Five, since you and Mickie are the same person."

"Gross." Kim scowls at the mention of her unfortunate twin before she smacks a laughing Cabot in the shoulder and then proceeds down the hall towards her office.

Upon arriving, she immediately comes to a halt when she sees various men leaving her office with boxes containing all of her case files, notes, and anything else she would need to basically be a lawyer while Liz stands outside the door with her arms folded looking a little less than pleased.

"What the hell?" Alex speaks up first, scowling deeply at one of them men who flinches at her glare but proceeds about his work.

"Liz, what is this?" Kim exclaims, glancing in her office to see it practically empty save face for her few personal belongings. "What's going on?"

"Apparently there has been reason given to those higher up than I that you have not been trying your cases honestly." The DA speaks solemnly with a hint of sadness in her voice. "Every case that you have ever prosecuted is being called into question on grounds of conflict of interest."

Kim pales about three shades before she manages to shake her head. "Liz, you can't…you know that I wouldn't do anything like this."

"This is not in my hands Kimberly, I'm sorry." The older blonde speaks holding up her hands. "Your license is being suspended and you will have to attend a meeting with the BAR Association two weeks from tomorrow. I must unfortunately see to it that you are not within one hundred feet of this office and I must ask you to leave the premises immediately."

"Is there really nothing you can do?" Alex questions genuinely.

Liz simply shakes her head, surprising the two women by actually looking regretful and saddened by the events taking place. "There is really nothing I can do. If there was something I could do, believe me I would waste no time in neutralizing this entire mess, but this is completely out of my hands. I'm sorry."

Feeling too defeated to argue, Kim simply nods her head in response. "I understand. I'll just…go." She utters quietly, swallowing the thick lump in her throat before walking away.

Alex glances after her for a brief moment before turning back to her boss. "Liz, can I take the day off? Her mother just died and she…well this is the last thing she needs right now. I need to get her home."

"Very well." Liz responds with a nod. Seeing the blonde about to leave, she calls out to her again. "Alexandra? Take care of her…she looks like she needs you right now."

"Yes Ma'am." Alex responds with a nod before she makes her way down the hall wondering why all of this had to happen at once.

**Hopefully I answered a question or two in this chapter. Leave your thoughts? **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I am not proud of this chapter. I felt like I could have written it so much better. Ungh. Anyway, here it is.**

"I'm coming! Geez!" Casey huffs as she practically sprints down the stairs to answer the door because clearly the person on the other side does not understand the meaning of patience. In her haste to open the door, she pulls the door open, preparing to greet the visitor, but any and all greetings die on her lips as soon as they make eye contact.

"Well you have some nerve." The redhead states firmly as she crosses her arms and leans against the doorway, her posture becoming rigid and defensive. "I don't know who you're looking for because to be honest, you don't have any business being here."

Abbie ducks her head and winces at the coldness in her best friend's words. "I know that I'm probably the last person that you want to see right now but I…well I really need to talk to someone." She explains, sighing heavily when she only receives heavy silence as her response. "Please Case…"

Instead of responding, Casey simply spins on her heel and proceeds back into the apartment, silently motioning for Abbie to follow her, but signing that she must be in charge of closing the door. Once in the living room, she turns around once again with her disappointment showing on her face. "What do you want?"

"I don't know…" Abbie mumbles as she shoves her hands into her pockets. "To explain myself…say that I'm sorry."

"Okay first of all," Casey begins as she holds up one finger. "I am most definitely not the person that you need to be apologizing to. Secondly, I really don't have time for your excuses Abigail. I have other things that I need to worry about and standing here listening to you give some half assed excuse is not on my agenda, because if you ask me, you have no excuse."

"You don't understand…"

"You're right, I don't understand, and I don't think I even want to understand. What you did…it exceeds the limits of terrible and it honestly makes me ashamed that I considered you a close friend. You messed up the one really good thing that you had going for you and I don't know what to say to that. You really hurt her Abbie."

"I-I know."

"No, I don't think you do know. I don't think you realize just how badly you hurt her. Not only did you cheat on her, but you were sleeping with her best friend. Do you even realize how long Kim and Serena have known each other? I don't think you do. So while you were out sleeping around with her best friend, you stopped caring about her. Then you went and told her you didn't love her anymore, but to me that's not the worst part. To me, the worst part is you telling her that she isn't worth anything. To be honest Abigail, that has by far got to be the most degrading thing you can hear from another person especially someone you thought loved you. How is telling her that she's worthless supposed to help her any? She was already down because her mother just passed away but then you just proceeded to kick her anyway."

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this." Abbie groans as she drags her hands through her hair. "It wasn't supposed to happen at all! I don't remember how this thing started with Serena….she just…I don't remember Casey, honest I don't. I just remember I woke up next to her one morning and she kept pursuing after that. I was weak."

"You let her seduce you." Casey states with a head nod. "Serena isn't the innocent good girl everything thinks she is. And I know she seduced you because she tried to seduce me. But the difference between you and me is two things. The first thing is I would never cheat on a woman because to me, my woman is always going to be valued and respected. The second thing, is that I am seeing Alex Cabot, and let me tell you, Alex would kick my ass from here to China if she caught me cheating. But that's the thing though. I would never cheat on Alex because I love her enough and I value her enough and I respect her enough to stay faithful to her. You let Serena get to you and you let her poison your mind which ended up poisoning your relationship. You fell out of love with Kim not because she 'wasn't worth anything', you fell out of love with her because Serena told you to. She had you on her puppet strings and you let her control you. That's why things ended up this way."

Abbie sighs, feeling tears prick her eyes as she runs her fingers through her hair once more out of nervous habit. "I don't…I know I messed up, but you gotta believe me when I say I didn't want it to happen like this. I didn't mean for it to happen like this. When I first got together with Kim we were so in love and then everything just changed and…I don't know what happened."

"I've been telling you what happened. You're just choosing not to listen to me." Casey snorts as she folds her arms and looks away. "It's not like I'm surprised now. Since you lied to me and everything. You told me to trust you and I did. But I'm not selfish so I'm not upset because you lied to me, I'm upset because you hurt the people important to me. That's why I'm upset."

"You're right…I'm sorry." Abbie sighs once again for probably the fifth time. "Is Alex here?"

Casey is silent for a moment before she manages a response. "No, Alex is not here. Alex is cleaning up your mess." She states bitterly. "The funeral for Kim's mother is today and that's where Alex is. I would ask you if Serena had the nerve to show her face there, but I know you don't know since I know Serena kicked you to the curb."

"How do you know that?"

"You talk to me like I'm an idiot Abbie. Because I know how she is! To be completely honest, ever since I first met her, I have never trusted Serena, ever. Then when she started flirting with me, trying to get me alone with her, I knew that she was more than a little off. That's why I always made sure there was at least one other person in the room with us whenever we had to interact. I didn't know if she would try to jump me or something."

"I should've been that smart." Abbie utters shamefully before shoving her hands in her pockets once again. "I know that you don't owe me any favors or anything, but can you call me and let me know when they get back? I need to get my stuff out of the apartment and Kim took me off the list to even get in the building."

"You're right I don't owe you anything." Casey responds firmly. "But because I'm a good person, I'll see what I can do."

**Meanwhile…**

"She's so cold, Ali…" Kim whispers sadly as she runs the back of her hand gently down her mother's cheek as if she is trying not to wake to woman from her eternal slumber. She had broken down about midway through the service and thankfully her sisters and best friend were there to help hold her together. Her only brother is unfortunately stuck overseas and therefore could not make the funeral.

Alex, who had just barely managed to keep herself together during the service, gently dabs at her eyes with a tissue that is already smeared with her makeup. "Honey, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that this happened to you."

Kim shrugs before she chuckles sadly, managing a smile through her tears as she looks down at her mother's body. "She died with a smile on her face." She states, gently tracing the woman's ruby colored lips with her fingertips. "It's amazing that even through all of her pain and even in her death, she still managed to stay happy. She looks like she's at peace and she's no longer in pain. I just wish I had the chance to say goodbye, you know? I thought I had all the time in the world but I didn't. I didn't spend enough time with her…I feel like I turned my back on her."

"She knows you didn't turn your back on her." A new voice speaks up causing the two women to direct their attention to the owner.

Kim casts a small smile in her twin's direction before turning back to her mother's casket. "What if she doesn't? What if she's disappointed in me because I didn't spend as much time with her as the rest of you? I didn't want her last thoughts of me to be disappointment."

"And they weren't." Michaela Greylek speaks honestly as she eyes her sister in silence. "You know that she loved you, and she died knowing that you loved her. She would've never been disappointed in you for that."

"I just wish that we had gotten to spend more time together."

"I think I'll give you two sometime alone." Alex speaks up, preparing to leave the church when she is immediately called back.

"You don't have to go anywhere." Kim replies, really not wanting to be left alone with Michaela. Twin or not, she feels like they don't need to be in the same room together, at least not right now. Not when she feels like she's about to combust at any moment.

Sensing this, Alex simply nods her head but lingers a few feet away to give them enough privacy. In all of her time of knowing Kim, she can honestly say that she can't believe that she and Michaela are even sisters let alone twins. While Kim is very blunt and likes to look at the glass as half empty, Michaela is very happy go lucky and tends to look at the glass as half full, making the most out of everything. This has honestly caused striking contrasts between the two sisters on several occasions, and they've had more fights than Alex can care to count.

Michaela is silent for a long moment before she approaches her sister with her arms folded tightly when she takes note at how the other woman won't even bother to look at her. "You know, she was my mother too Kimberly. You're not the only one that's hurting right now."

"I never said that I was."

"You're acting like it."

"I don't want to fight here. Not in front of Mom. You know how she got when we fought."

"We drove her to insanity." Michaela responds with a quiet chuckle as she shakes her head. "We're having kind of a…I don't want to say reception, but a gathering back at the house after we leave the cemetery. It would really mean a lot if you could make it."

Kim purses her lips tightly feeling tears prick her eyes before she shakes her head. "I can't. I really need to be heading home."

Michaela frowns slightly before softens. "Kim, we're you're family. We have to be therefore each other. Especially right now."

"What I need right now, Michaela, is to be alone." Kim speaks firmly before she spins on her heel and walks away from the casket. "I need to be getting home. Come on Alex."

"Kim, I think you're sister has a-"

"Let's go!"

Alex snaps her mouth shut and sends Michaela a look of apology before following her tense best friend out of the church where she finds the brunette waiting by her car.

"Can I drive?" Kim asks tersely, though it comes out as more of a flat comment than a question.

"Sure…" Alex replies, digging into her purse before she tosses Kim the keys. To be honest, she isn't sure whether or not having Kim drive in this state is a good thing or not, but she feels as if she's not really in a position to argue.

For about twenty minutes into the drive back to the Pennsylvanian hotel they are staying at, there is silent but surprisingly Kim is the first one who breaks it. "You know, I can hear you thinking from over here." She speaks flatly, though her eyes remain on the road.

Alex blinks rapidly, feeling a small blush color her cheeks at being caught. "It's nothing, really. I just…I feel like you were just a little tough on your sister. I mean, I know you guys don't get along that much but your mother just passed away. I don't think we should just be leaving so abruptly."

"I can't be around them right now Alex. Not all of them. Not right now. I need to have a little bit of time to myself."

"With everything that's happened, I just feel like you could use other people who care about you…"

"And that's the thing Alex. With everything that's happened. My mother died and I didn't get to say goodbye, there is a strong possibility I will not only get fired, but I can lose my license, which will mean my degree will have gone to waste, and added in with all of that, I've gotten my heart broken. Excuse the hell out of me if I don't want to spend all of time around a shit load of people right now!"

Alex purses her lips tightly at being snapped at before she turns her head and gazes out the passenger side window. "You smile when you're with Emily."

"What?" Kim snaps, her frustrations and anguish blazing in her eyes.

"Emily. She makes you smile and she makes you happy. I've never seen you as comfortable with someone who isn't me, as you are with her. I think you should consider spending some more time with her."

"I'm most definitely not looking for any kind of relationship right now Alex."

"I'm not telling you to jump into a relationship. I'm telling you to build a friendship and get to know her. But at the same time you gotta let her get to know you. Who knows. You might be surprised where it goes."

Kim purses her lips tightly before she releases a small sigh. "Maybe."

**I had not originally thought about giving Kim a twin but I did and it's super lame because her name is…well…some of you might've caught my cheesiness. Lol. Anyway, leave your thoughts? **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I was kinda writing this to take my mind off of things. I added the first part of this for comic relief. It made me laugh at least. Anyway, enjoy. **

**Flashback**

Alex and Kim are lounging about Alex's room when a thought crosses Kim's mind. After a moment or two of sitting on this idea, she decides to voice her curiosities. "Alex, have you ever kissed anyone?" she asks, her eyes blinking innocently as she sits up from where she was stretched across the foot of Alex's bed.

The blonde in question puts down her magazine and quirks an eyebrow in skepticism. "Kim, I'm a senior…" she deadpans.

"So? Just because you're a senior doesn't mean you've kissed someone." Kim continues, with the same amount of innocent curiosity in her eyes. "Well have you?"

"Of course I have." Alex replies with a nonchalant shrug, seeing nothing wrong with the question.

Kim twiddles her thumbs for a moment before she presses herself to go on. "Can you tell me what it's like?"

"I guess. I mean. It's nice really, but you gotta know what you're doing when you kiss somebody. You can just smash your face into theirs and move your head like a weirdo. You gotta be good at it. That way, once you kiss somebody you like, that'll make them wanna kiss you again." Alex explains with another shrug before her eyes narrow in suspicion. "Why the sudden question about kissing?"

"I wanted to know what it was like." The brunette responds, flinching when she receives a semi loud gasp in response.

"You've never kissed anyone?" Alex gasps, her eyes wide from shock.

"No…"

"Never ever?"

"Never ever…"

"Oh my god!" Alex gasps again as she leans against her headboard. "Then again, I don't really know why I'm all that surprised. I mean come on, it's you we're talking about here."

"Yeah." Kim nods before her mind finally catches on and her head snaps up. "Hey wait! What's that supposed to mean?"

Alex giggles and has to place her hand over her mouth before she can calm down enough to continue. "It doesn't mean anything in particular. I just think it's really not that surprising once you really think about it. Since you're…you. I can't really explain what that means. But anyway, back to the point. Why did you wanna know about kissing?"

Kim rolls her eyes before she folds her arms and looks away. "I told you. I was just curious. You've kissed someone and Serena has a girlfriend so I know she's kissed someone. I'm like the only one who hasn't kissed anybody yet and I'm a sophomore in high school. I just wanted to know what it was like to kiss somebody."

"Well, if it'll help. You can kiss me if you want."

Kim is silent for probably three solid minutes as her eyes blink rapidly. "What…? Did you just…what?"

Alex shrugs nonchalantly before she sits Indian style on her mattress. "Well sure, if you want. I mean, personally I think it'd be cool to have your first kiss with your best friend, that way you won't have to worry about being judged or anything. And you don't have to worry about me liking you like that. Of course you don't have to, but if you wanna practice, I'm here."

"Gee Alex, I don't know. Won't things be weird afterwards?"

"Only if you end up having a crush on me or something."

"…I think that'd be a little weird. But I don't think that'd be a problem." Kim answers shaking her head before she goes back to wringing her hands. "Alright…"

After a moment of silence, Alex giggles once again with a teasing smirk tugging at her lips. "You don't think I'm just going to let you get away with just sitting there, do you? If I'm gonna help you with this, you're gonna have to kiss me."

Kim sighs heavily and shakes her head with a small blush coloring her cheeks. "You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

"Hey, I already know how to kiss. You can't learn if you don't initiate. Kinda like that time I taught you to ride a bike. You fell more times when I forced you on the bike than you did when you actually tried. It's basically the same thing with this. You gotta initiate."

"Alright, alright. But…I don't know how to start…"

"You gotta make whoever you're kissing comfortable around you." Alex begins instructively. "Do stuff like touch her shoulders, or her hair, or tell her how you like her hair, things like that. Like I said, you gotta make her comfortable."

Kim nods her head before she raises a shaky hand and nervously tucks a stray strand of hair behind her friend's ear. "Like that?" she questions for confirmation before gently traveling her fingers through the silk blonde tresses.

"Yeah, like that. Keeping making physical contact all the while making light conversation. Find things to compliment her about. Her eyes, her lips, her hair again, etcetera. As all of this is happening, gradually move forward until you're basically nuzzling."

Swallowing thickly, Kim nods and does as she's been instructed, slowly moving forward until their noses are lightly touching and all the while keeping her hand resting on Alex's cheek. As they are only centimeters apart, she notices that the blonde has her eyes cast down towards her mouth. "Um, Alex? What're you looking at?"

Alex sighs irritably and leans back, giving her best friend a look of annoyance at her naivety. "I'm looking at your lips…that's how a girl tells you she wants you to kiss her. I'm not just going to blatantly go, 'okay now kiss me'. That's not how it works."

"Oh, okay. I got it." Kim nods before getting back to their earlier position. "So, I'm gonna kiss you now."

"Kim stop…" Alex sighs once again, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Don't announce that you are about to kiss me, weirdo. If you're going to kiss me, just kiss me. Announcing it ruins the moment."

"Right…sorry. I got it now." The younger girl nods, before taking a much needed deep breath for confidence. She moves forward once again, slightly tilting her head like she's seen in the movies before gently pressing her lips against those of her best friend.

To be honest, Alex is a little surprised. Granted, the first one isn't perfect, but it's honestly better than what she had originally anticipated. Though, it is very tense and still but she sums this all up to the brunette being nervous. As she is continuing to run through her own mental analysis, Kim surprises her by abruptly pulling away with a gasp. "What's wrong?"

"I needed air." Kim pants, feeling her face flush once again, but this time from her lack of oxygen.

"That's why you breathe through your nose, Kimberly." Alex responds with a headshake feeling like her job is done."Like I said before, kissing is an art. So don't be afraid to move around with it and use your hands if you want. In the future, more than one kiss will help you out with the air thing too. Also, don't just kiss her lips. You can explore elsewhere if she's comfortable with it."

"Hands. Got it."

"Right. Well anyway, that was your first kiss. I hope I was at least of some hel-" before she can finish her sentence, she feels lips pressed against her own once again, but this time more dominantly. She gasps when she feels teeth gently nipping at her lower lip which gives way for a tongue to enter her mouth, exploring the insides of her teeth, the roof her mouth, her tongue, etc.

Before she can even begin to comprehend what's happening because everything is moving so fast, Alex feels those same pair of soft lips move to her cheek, down her jaw line and down to her neck, all the while hands are roaming experimentally over her body.

"Ah, Kim, I-I think that's fine, you get the idea." the blonde stammers, gasping when she feels hands lightly graze her breasts. "Kim!"

"What?! Ah, sorry!" Kim explains, sitting back on her hands as she blushes heavily. "I got a little carried away…"

"I think you have the kissing thing down." Alex chuckles as she pulls out a mirror from her end table drawer and examines her appearance. "Oh wow! You actually managed to give me a hickey. That's gonna be fun to explain to my parents."

"Sorry…"

**End Flashback **

Alex bursts into a fit of hysterical laughter as she completes the end of her recollection. Tears form in her eyes when she sees the glare she's getting in return which only causes her to laugh even harder. "Oh god, I forgot how funny that really is until I retold it just now."

"Why did you feel the need to remind me of that." Kim mumbles with a dark scowl, though it can't be taken seriously because of the crimson color of her face. "If this is your way of making me feel better, I think we both need to reevaluate our options on topics of interest."

"Oh relax Kimmy, I'm just trying to make you cheer up." Alex responds with a wide grin. "Who knew that me trying to teach you how to kiss would end up with you making out with me."

"It was one time, alright! You already knew I had absolutely no clue of what I was doing!"

"I know! And that made it all the more adorable! Look at you! You're still blushing!"

Kim resists a shout of joy when she hears a knock at the front door. She practically runs out of the living room to the door, swinging it open to greet her savior, only for her voice to come out in genuine confusion. "Emily?"

"Uh, hey…" The agent replies with an awkward smile as she shoves her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"Hi." Kim responds as they linger in the doorway for a moment just silently gazing at each other. It isn't until Alex announces her rather unwanted presence that the trance is broken. "Hey, uh, sorry. Come in?"

"Thanks." Emily nods as she strides through the door, looking around as she moves into the living room. "You have a really nice apartment."

"Thank you. I picked it and decorated." The attorney replies before tilting her head. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you find out where I live? I don't recall giving you my address…" she inquires before it dawns on her. "Alex…"

Hearing the warning in her best friend's voice, Alex subtly stands from the couch and stretches. "Wow, would you look at the time? I really gotta be heading home. Casey is expecting me for something. I'll see you later Kim, nice seeing you Emily, gotta go, bye!"

Emily chuckles quietly while Kim simply shakes her head in disapproval. "She had something to do with this, didn't she?"

"Yeah. She texted me and told me to come over. Said you needed some cheering up and who was I to decline? But if you want to be alone, I'll leave. I know it is kind of rude of me just showing up here uninvited."

"No! I mean, no…no, you don't have to leave. You can stay. I had intended on going through the apartment, packing up Abbie's things, but I guess I can do that some other time. Um, so, since you're here. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking maybe we could go out?" Emily offers, backpedaling quickly. "I mean, not like a date. Because I know you're definitely not looking for anyone right now so no not 'go out' like that. I mean we could go out and do something like…I don't know, go to an aquarium or the zoo or something. Unless you think that's really lame and you want to do something else."

Remembering what Alex said about spending time with the other woman and getting to know her, Kim nods her head while managing a tiny smile. "I suppose that the aquarium could be fun."

She hopes.

* * *

After spending a fair amount of time walking though the exhibits, Kim finds herself seated at a table across from the agent in the aquarium restaurant. "I just don't know what I'm going to do." she groans, running her fingers through her hair as she recounts her latest woe upon Emily's prompting.

"So what's going to happen?" Emily asks curiously with an inquisitive tilt of her head. "I mean, is there anything that you can do?"

"Anything I can do personally? No. I have a meeting with the BAR Association coming up which is never a good sign. I have met very few people who have had these kinds of meetings and have come out unscathed. There's a strong possibility I'm going to be stripped of my license."

"So that means you wouldn't be able to practice law anymore? Anywhere? Excuse me for saying, but that's complete bullshit. They can't do that to you."

"They have the authority to…but that doesn't mean that it's right. If I can't practice law, I really don't know what else to do with myself. I mean, I put all of that time into my degree for a reason and that wasn't for it to go to waste. I just…I really don't know what I'm going to do."

Emily taps her fingers against the table before she comes up with an idea. "Let me help you, okay? I know right now it might not seem like much, but I'm going to help you. Just let me see what I can do."

Kim purses her lips tightly before she shakes her head. "I appreciate your offer, but I don't want to drag you into this mess. I don't want you to worry about me. I'll figure something out."

"Just…let me help you, okay? That's all I want to do."

"I don't need your pity."

"I'm not pitying you." Emily explains firmly. "Listen, my choice of occupation is being a profiler and whether I like it or not, sometimes I just can't turn that off. I study human behavior for a living, so I know when something is bothering you and I know when you need help. Everyone has their natural tells of that and I've been around you long enough to pick up on what yours are. When you're nervous you fiddle with your jewelry whether it's your bracelets, your necklace, or your earrings, but you somehow and in some way touch your jewelry. I can tell these types of things. Listen, I know we haven't really known each other extremely long, but believe me when I tell you that I care about you and that's why I want to help you. Not because I pity you but because I care. I just want your friendship which means that I can have your trust, and, when you're ready, maybe even your heart. If you let me."

Kim falls silent as she feels her defenses start to weaken which immediately scares her. The last time she let her walls down and let someone in, it left her with a broken heart and an empty home. She isn't sure if she can put herself through that again. Not even for friendship.

**Hmmm, leave your thoughts? **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: a rather unwanted character makes another appearance in this chapter but hey…she had to come back at some point, right? Hehe, enjoy.**

Serena wears a rather proud smile as she strides down the hallways of the DA's office with an aura of confidence following close behind her. Her grin widens as her mind runs through the past week or so and she has to resist the urge to laugh out loud at her successes. Honestly things just couldn't have gotten any easier for her. After all, she has always enjoyed winning.

Now she turns her attention back to her job at hand as she hums and lightly taps her fingers against the cup of coffee in her hand. Seeing that this day is as good of a day as any, she continues to hum as she puts on an innocent smile and turns into the open doorway with a light greeting.

"Hey Casey."

Casey raises her eyes from the file she's reading over only briefly before turning her attention back to her work. "Hello." She responds smoothly, with the most uninterested voice she can muster.

Serena, expecting this, simply proceeds to enter the office as she closes her hands around the coffee cup. "What're you up to this morning? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Working." The redhead responds dully as she keeps her eyes cast down towards her desk. "Something that you should be doing right now instead of standing there wasting time."

_'Very thick headed.'_ Serena thinks to herself before she hums in response. "In a way, I kind of am working. Since Alex took another day off, Liz told me to come down here and help you if you needed it. So I just came to see if you needed any help. Look, I even brought you coffee."

This causes Casey to look up completely for the first time as she sets down her pin and folds her hands across her desk. "Listen Serena, I'm going to say this politely only because we're at work and I believe in conducting myself in a professional manner when I'm at the office." She begins evenly, putting in a pause for good measure. "I know what kind of game you play, and believe me when I say that I'm not interested."

"Whatever do you mean?" Serena responds with a brief evil smirk, knowing exactly what Casey is talking about but she decides to indulge the redhead anyway. In this little game of cat and mouse she wants to allow Casey the luxury of thinking she's the cat for the time being.

"Don't play dumb." Casey snaps, feeling slightly inferior when her intelligence is being insulted. "I know exactly what you did to Abbie, and I know that you're a jealous, conniving little bitch that will manipulate people to get whatever she wants."

"Those are some pretty strong accusations, Casey." The blonde hums, as she shakes her head in what appears to be disapproval. "I have done nothing wrong."

"I don't know what you classify as 'wrong', but sleeping with your best friend's girlfriend classifies as wrong in my book Serena."

"You can't accuse me of things if you don't even know the full story." Serena tuts with another disapproving headshake. "It's quite unfortunate that things turned out the way that they did, but I can't change the fact that they happened. The past is the past, I'm afraid. There's nothing that I can do about it."

Casey rolls her eyes in sheer disgust. "You ruined your best friend's relationship and now here you are acting as if you have no remorse."

"Oh I have remorse. It devastates me that things happened this way, but I can't help that Abbie decided she wanted to be with me instead."

"And don't you think it looks just a little suspicious that you cast her aside as soon as she and Kim broke up?"

"She wanted a relationship, I wanted sex. It would never have worked out."

Casey purses her lips tightly not believing a thing that she is hearing, but then again, Abbie had been lying to her for god knows how long and she just doesn't know who or what to believe anymore. "If you ask me, I think you're both wrong."

"I don't recall asking you anything." Serena responds quickly, a smirk tugging at her lips when she sees that she has rendered the redhead speechless for the time being. "That's a very beautiful ring on your finger."

"Thank you…" Casey answers skeptically as she folds her arms, strategically hiding her left hand from view.

"I would say that congratulations are in order, but considering the circumstances I can only pity you for what you're getting yourself into."

"I'm going to kick myself for this later, but pray tell, what do you mean by that?"

"Oh you know. It's just that being tied down to Alex will probably get tiresome for you in the future. You see, she's very demanding and controlling and I can see that being a problem for you. You strike me as a woman who likes to enjoy the randomness of life and just simply 'go with the flow' if you will. Being tied to Alex will rip that all away."

"Then I'll learn to adjust." Casey snaps back quickly as she folds her arms. "I already told you I wasn't interested."

"I wasn't making an offer." Serena answers, tilting her head as she chuckles lightly. "I was just simply stating what I know as true. If there's anyone who knows Alex, it's me. I know her better than she knows herself. Anyway, if you don't have any work for me at the moment, I really must be going. I have other things that I need to attend to. Enjoy your coffee."

Casey simply stays silent as she watches the devious blonde saunter out of her office. She shakes her head and leans back in her chair, running her fingers through her hair as she replay the most recent conversation in her mind. It's almost as if she can feel the sinister aura hanging in the air. And she most definitely doesn't like it.

* * *

"This was a really bad idea." Kim mumbles, nudging Alex harshly in the ribs as if to emphasize her point on how much of a terrible idea this is. "Where do you come up with this?"

"Will you relax? Everyone thought it was a great idea except for you. And it's not as if we sent you here by yourself." Alex replies making a face. "Besides, you need to get out and have some fun. Your depression is starting to make me depressed."

"I'm not depressed." Kim responds tightly as she crosses her arms defiantly.

Alex rolls her eyes before she sighs heavily. "Okay, so maybe depression wasn't the right word, but you get what I mean. You're feeling down and you need some cheering up. I think this is a really good idea to cheer you up. Plus, I told you that you needed to spend some time with her and since you are too afraid to do it on your own; I'm giving you a little nudge. Think of it as the Momma bird getting the baby bird ready to leave the nest."

Kim narrows her eyes at this and lets out another defiant huff of irritation. "And give me a reason as to why I should stay here and endure this instead of just walking right out that door and going home?"

"Because you love me, I am your best friend, and I let you feel me up when you were sixteen."

"It was an accident!"

"And you still blush because of it." Alex answers with a grin when her best friend blushes on cue. "Seriously though, you need to relax. It's not as if I sent you here by yourself. You have me, Casey, Liv and Amanda here in case you get scared."

Kim sighs heavily before she pinches the bridge of her nose. "Is this a date Alex?"

"No. It's a group of friends who are hanging out, having a good time and may share a few kisses every now and then." The blonde replies quickly as she loops her arm through Kim's and trudges back over towards the group. "Have we decided teams yet?"

"No." Liv responds as she folds her arms. "That's what we're here discussing. I was trying to explain to Casey that the two of you can't be on the same team. Especially if we want to have any kind of chance at this."

Alex pouts, before sticking her tongue out at the detective. "I just think that you're afraid you're gonna lose if Casey and I play together."

"No. I know I'm gonna lose if you and Casey play together." Olivia deadpans in response. "You can't be on the same team. Right Emily?"

The agent blinks several times before she shrugs her shoulders. "I…really don't have much of a preference." She states, flinching when Alex retorts to Liv's comment rather loudly.

"Well if me and Casey can't be on the same team, then you and Amanda can't be on the same team."

"Deal. I'll trade you Amanda for Casey."

"What?!" the blonde detective exclaims with offense evident in her voice.

"You know I love you sweetheart, but you can't bowl and I intend to win this thing." Olivia responds, placing a gentle kiss to her girlfriend's cheek, earning a glare of disapproval in response.

"I'm just going to be the one to address the elephant in the room," Kim speaks up as she places her hands on her hips. "Everyone here knows that Amanda can't bowl and I am really not in the mood for losing."

Amanda rolls her eyes and simply folds her arms all the while muttering something about being picked on for no reason at all.

"How about we just do couples can't be on the same team." Casey exclaims exasperatedly as she shakes her head. "So it'll be me, Liv and Emily against the three of you, doesn't that sound fair?"

"But Emily and I aren't-

"Let's bowl!" Alex exclaims, shuffling off towards the lane.

While Alex and Casey are up taking their turns for respective teams, the others sit on the benches on their team's side watching with intent.

"I gotta warn you, things get pretty heated when we do this." Olivia begins, drawing Emily's attention. "Cabot is really competitive."

Emily chuckles quietly before nodding her head in agreement. "I kind of gathered that." she responds, watching as Alex and Casey simultaneously send their bowling balls down their respective lanes, knocking down all of the pins at the end. "Holy shit."

Olivia sighs heavily before slumping in her seat. "Now you see why I was saying that can't be on the same team. Casey is like a sports prodigy and Alex…well, I think her motivation for bowling is her picturing my squad's heads down the lane instead of the pins." She chuckles, standing when it's her turn. As she approaches the lane she gives a cheer and a clap right before Amanda is about to take her turn. "Whoohoo! Baby, you got this!"

"Hey! No distracting my player!" Alex shouts from the bench, pointing an accusatory finger. "That's alright Manda, you show her!"

"Show her good please," Kim chimes in. "I'd really like to win."

Amanda simply sneers in response before she takes the ball in her hands. She swallows thickly as she steps up to the line and stares silently down the lane. "Okay…here I go…" she mumbles before she sets the ball on the floor and gives it a shove down the lane.

"Is she seriously…" Alex groans, pinching the bridge of her nose as the ball slowly begins to inch it's way down the lane.

"It's better than usual." Olivia supplies with a grin as she picks up the spare from her first shot.

"It's better than usual." Amanda mocks, placing her hands on her hips as her ball continues to creep down the lane. When it reaches the end, it lightly taps the front pin, which succeeds in knocking the rest of them over, ending in a strike and a squeal of delight from the detective…and a rather enthusiastic shout from a certain attorney.

"HA! TAKE THAT SUCKERS!" Alex exclaims, leaping to her feet.

"Alex please…we're in public…" Kim mutters, shaking her head as she stands up to take her turn. She's so busy focusing on Emily grinning at her that she completely misses Alex stick out her leg, which catches her footing and causes her to stumble to the floor; earning snickers from the blondes on the bench. "Oh real mature, Cabot…"

"Long legs…what can I say?" the smug blonde replies with a smirk, blowing a kiss when she receives another death glare in response. "Go bowl, Kimberly. It's your turn."

Kim mutters profanities under her breath all the while going up to take her turn. When she gets there, her ears pick up on more snickering and she abruptly turns around only to be meet with Casey and Liv straining to keep their mouths pinched shut. Despite her embarrassment, she manages to glare at them, though it does little to no good because of the blush on her face.

"Hey, are you alright?" Emily asks with genuine concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine…Alex is just an asshole." The attorney mumbles in response as she picks up one of the bowling balls to take her turn all the while plotting her revenge later.

Later on into the evening, Kim faces off against a competitive Alex in a game of pool with Amanda watching with side commentary, while Emily, Casey and Liv sit at a table chatting over a beer and a basket of cheese fries.

For probably the fifth time in the past ten minutes, Olivia notices Emily's gaze shifting over to the pool table where her eyes linger on Kim for an extended period of time. She whistles quietly and shakes her head before taking a sip of her beer. "Wow Prentiss…you've got it _real_ bad."

Snapping her head back around, the agent feigns innocence as she puts a frown on her face. "What are you talking about?"

"She's talking about how you keep checking out the ice princess over there every two minutes." Casey chimes in, nodding her head towards the pool table. "It's kind of hard not to notice."

As if on cue, Emily's gaze once again wanders back over towards the pool table. Her heart flutters a little when she sees Kim laugh at something Alex says before giving the blonde a shove and bending over the table to take her next turn giving the agent a perfect view of her-

"Emily!"

"Huh? What? Sorry…" Emily blushes deeply before turning back towards her new friends trying to figure out which one of them was talking to her. "What'd you say?"

"I asked how long it's been like this." Olivia speaks up with a well knowing smirk on her face.

Emily thinks for a moment before she shrugs and sighs. "Honestly, since I first laid eyes on her. I wasn't able to speak or anything. I just kinda stared at her because I thought she was so beautiful."

Casey raises her eyebrows in surprise before taking a swig of her own beer. "Wow, that's a first. I don't think I've ever come across a person who wasn't afraid of Kim when they first met her. I remember I was terrified."

"Remember what happened when you introduced me to her?" Olivia jokes, nudging Casey in the shoulder.

"I remember! You whispered to me that you thought she looked like a pinched up cat but she has ears like a bat so she heard you! Oh man, you received death glares for a week!"

"Remember when she threatened you with that pick ax?"

"What?" Emily exclaims with widened eyes out of curiosity. "Okay now you HAVE to tell me this story."

Casey rolls her neck for a moment before she leans back in her chair. "Ah, there was a time during my relationship with Alex that I kinda lost myself. I was more into myself than I was to her so I guess I started ignoring her without meaning to. Well, Kim found out and she came to my door with this huge ass pick ax one day telling me I better not hurt her best friend because it would be me, her, the ax, and a ditch in the middle of nowhere….I didn't watch baseball for months after that." she concludes with a small shudder. "Kim and I have grown kinda close since then though. She's important to Alex which means she's important to me, so I'd do anything for her if I needed to."

"That's really great. Alex is really lucky to have someone like you." Emily responds with a smile.

"Yeah and I'm lucky to have her." Casey grins dreamily over at her fiancée before turning her attention back to the table. "So Emily, tell us what you play to do about this infatuation of yours."

Emily's smile falters before she shrugs her shoulders while toying with the label on her beer bottle. "I don't know, to be honest. I mean, I want to go out with her, like on a date and everything, but I can tell that she's not ready. I know she's really hurting and right now I just want to help her through that. I want a friendship with her and if she's willing…then maybe even something more. I guess only time will tell."

"Why her?" Olivia asks with a tilt of her head.

"Why not her?" Emily responds, knowing that the detective is testing her loyalty with the question. She's been able to gather from the time she's spent with everyone that this is a group of friends who will defend one another to the end and she's honored that they've initiated her into their circle. "She's gorgeous of course, but that's not the main reason. She's beautiful in so many other ways than physically. She can be really sweet and really gentle but she hides behind this mask of thorns because she's afraid to let people in. But I understand that because she doesn't want to get hurt. I think deep down her biggest fear of getting hurt and now that she's been hurt, she doesn't want anyone close to her. I love her sense of humor and I love watching her smile because when she smiles it reaches her eyes and it's honestly one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. She's just…amazing."

Casey and Olivia exchange a look before nodding in unison deeming the answer they received an acceptable one.

"Well you better not hurt her." Casey warns firmly. "FBI agent or not, I'll still tear you apart if you do."

"You don't have to worry about that, I won't hurt her." Emily confirms, making eye contact with both women before nodding. "You have my word."

**I think this chapter turned out really well. What do you guys think? And what do you think should happen to Abbie? Hmm? Leave your comments! **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This chapter…hmm….hehehe, be prepared.**

Kim is unknowingly fidgeting excessively in her sleep. Ever since she got the call about her mother, she's had an increased amount in night terrors, which only succeeds in ruining her sleeping pattern for the following day. Not that she really has things to do or anything.

Her eyes fly open and she shoots up in bed, with her chest heaving and her hair tousled out of its ponytail and plastered to her face from perspiration. Immediately, her instincts and habits take over and her hand quickly flies to the left side of the bed.

"Abbie?" she calls out, almost fearfully into the darkness of her bedroom. It takes a full three seconds for everything to hit and she finds there to be a drastic sinking feeling in her chest. For a brief moment she half expects for everything that has happened to be one hellish nightmare. She expects for the raven haired woman in question to simply walk out of the bathroom before crawling back into bed with her and holding her until they fall asleep. She expects to be able to call her mother the next morning and just chat about this that and the other. She expects all of those things for only a brief moment, but then reality hits once again.

Kim has mentally (and even a little verbally) reprimanded herself more times than she can even care to count because of what has happened. She's not used to her emotions being on display, especially when it comes to those of distress, anguish, pain, and anything else of the like. She's not used to expressing her sadness and because that's basically all she's been doing when she's been alone; it makes her feel weak. Weakness and sadness are just not in the vocabulary of Kim Greylek. And don't even get her started about how she feels about crying.

On a slightly lighter note, she has to actually give herself a mental pat on the back for the way she handled the situation when Abbie came around to get her stuff earlier. Despite her feelings to lash out and cry and scream and shout like she wanted to, Kim managed to hold it together and put up a solid front like she's used to doing.

_Kim bites down on her lower lip as she continues to nervously wring her hands together and pace around various parts of her apartment. Her heart practically slams to a halt when she hears a gentle knock at the front door and she stands stationary for a long more before she cautiously proceeds. Taking a much needed deep breath for confidence, she swings the door open with the most amount of confidence that she manages to muster within that short time period. _

_ "Hi." _

_ "Hey…" Abbie responds awkwardly as she shoves her hands into her back pockets. "Uh, I'm here for the rest of my stuff. I would've come sooner but finding a new place took a little longer than I thought so…sorry." _

_ "It's fine." Kim responds as she spins on her heel, proceeding back into the apartment, pointing her finger at a stack of boxes sitting by the entrance to the foyer. "You gave me enough time to make sure that I packed everything. I didn't realize that practically everything in here is mine." _

_ Abbie nods in response and is silent for a minute before coming up with something to say. "Listen, Kim I-"_

_ "Abbie, honestly, I really don't want to hear it." Kim interrupts as she raises her hand. "I've spent enough crying over this so now I feel like I can actually have an appropriate conversation with you about this. There isn't any amount or type of excuse you can give me that will justify what you did. At least not to me. I honestly don't care why you did, I don't care how it happened, I honestly don't even care when because it really doesn't matter. What matters is that it happened. It's done, it's in the past and you can't do anything to fix it. You…you really hurt me Abbie and you can't change that. Simply coming here and telling me you're sorry does absolutely nothing for me. Being completely honest with myself, I don't want to hear your apology because I don't care. I really don't. I've got a lot of things on my mind right now and you are the last thing that needs to be on my mind right now. So I don't want your excuses, I don't want your apologies, I don't want any of that. What I do want, is for you to get your stuff, and get out. I'll speak to you a professional manner when we are at work, but other than that I don't want to see you." _

_ "So that's it?" Abbie inquires as she raises her eyebrows in surprise. "You're just gonna decide you don't want anything to do with me?" _

_ "You decided that for yourself when you went to bed with my best friend." Kim snorts mirthlessly before she nods towards the door. "Now I want you to move quickly and get the hell out of my apartment." _

_ Abbie simply shakes her head and holds up her hands in surrender as she sets about moving her things. Once she's gotten all of her boxes into the hallway she isn't the least bit of surprised that the door immediately slams on her before she can say anything. She's even less surprised at the fact that she didn't even get a chance to explain. Maybe some other time then. _

_ Kim exhales deeply as she leans against the door. A large part of her feels as if a great weight has been lifted from her shoulders, and with a now Abbie-free apartment, she feels like she can begin to start her life over, building it the way that she wants it to be instead of going off of someone else. But at the very same time, she feels as if she has no idea of how she's supposed to do such a thing. _

Sighing heavily, Kim tames her frazzled hair before slipping out of bed since she knows that the odds of her going back to bed are probably slim to none. She pads her way out of her bedroom and down the stairs, proceeding into the kitchen to make herself a much needed cup of tea. Or maybe coffee. She hasn't quite decided what she'll do yet.

Making up her mind, she makes herself a cup of coffee and then proceeds to make her way into the living room. She rolls her eyes at what she's about to do, silently cursing Alex because it's in some way her fault. Pulling over an old photo album put together and left at her apartment by the blonde, she settles on the couch and begins to flip through it.

Upon opening the album, the first thing that catches her eye is a picture of Alex, Serena and herself. She can't exactly remember what year the picture was taken, but she remembers the day at the beach clearly in her mind, much like many other childhood memories.

Turning the page, she then spots a picture from her junior year in high school as she poses next to Serena while they are sporting their varsity cheer uniforms. To be honest, she had never really wanted to be a cheerleader, but somehow Serena had talked to it, and somehow she managed to make the squad, earning her a bone crushing hug and an ear piercing squeal of delight.

Kim's tiny smile fades as she continues to take in the picture. To be completely honest, she cannot pinpoint where everything just went wrong with Serena. She hasn't approached Serena and Serena hasn't approached her and she isn't quite sure if that's a good thing or not. All she knows it that she wants to know where everything went wrong. She wants to know what it is that she did to damage their friendship so badly that Serena would be completely okay with doing a thing like this.

"What did I do Rena…" she whispers aloud, putting the photo book to the side before she rests her head against the back of the sofa still repeating the same thing over and over again in her mind; wondering what she did to make her lose one of her best friends.

* * *

**Later in the Day **

Casey is happily stretched across the length of the sofa as she continues to absentmindedly channel surf on the television. Channel after channel, or more like, nothing after nothing, Casey finally sighs heavily and settles on flipping the other way, hoping that something new has come on within the span of the last twenty minutes. This is exactly why she hates it when Alex goes to run errands, but after the last trip to the bank and the grocery store, Casey has been barred from most domestic activities.

A light knocking on the front door causes her to groan heavily as she has to set herself up to move off of the sofa. She groans and grunts once more as she forces herself off of the couch and onto her feet to make her way over to the front door. She forgoes looking through the peephole and she prepares to greet her visitor when the words simply die on her lips. "Oh…you."

Serena simply grins in response before letting a light giggle escape from her lips. "Hello Casey." She responds with that same sweet-devilish grin on her face. "Is that really a greeting you give all of your guests who show up at your front door?"

"No," the redhead responds quickly before muttering to herself. "Just the sketchy ones."

Serena briefly raises an eyebrow at the inaudible murmuring before her head returns and she tilts her head innocently. "Well aren't you gonna invite me in?" she laughs before slipping past the redhead and into the apartment.

Casey simply sighs heavily and says a silent prayer before she moves back into the apartment and shuts the door. "If you're looking for Alex, then she's not here." She speaks firmly, shoving her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "She's out running errands."

"Oh that's fine. I'm not really looking for Alex." The blonde hums in response before she runs a hand through her hair. "I actually came here to see you silly."

"Oh joy…and to what do I owe this pleasurable visit?"

"Why don't you want me, Casey?"

The question actually takes Casey off guard and she finds herself blinking randomly before shaking her head with a frown plastered across her face. "I'm sorry, but what part of 'I am engaged to Alex Cabot' is hard for you to understand? And I'm just not attracted to you in that way…or in any way really."

Serena quirks an eyebrow once again before placing her hands on her hips. "Well why not? I know for a fact that I am just as pretty and probably even prettier than Alex. Not to mention the fact that she's practically an ice queen and she's spoiled rotten. Honestly, how do you even put up with her rich girl attitude? She's not a queen you know."

"Well she's my queen." Casey responds firmly as she folds her arms. "And I respect her enough to stay away from the likes of me?"

"The likes of me? Well that hardly seems fair to say." Serena chuckles, this time rather lowly as she begins to slowly stalk Casey about the living room, all the while undoing the buttons to her own blouse. "Don't you want to see what you're missing? Maybe even have a little taste?"

Casey's eyes practically pop out of her head when she sees the blonde slip out of her blouse, revealing her rather skimpy, black lace bra. "Serena, I really don't find this appropriate." She says shaking her head as she backs away slowly.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to see a little more?" Serena inquires with her same devious smirk as she easily slips out of her skirt, letting it pool to the floor and leaving her in only her matching bra and panty set as well as her 'poke an eye out' black heels. "Have a feel?"

"I'm good," Casey responds shaking her head once more. She firmly grasps Serena's wrists when she feels hands appear at her sides. "How about we keep our hands to ourselves, yeah?"

"You're so strong, you know that?" Serena hums dreamily, completely ignoring the statement. "That's the difference between you and Abbie you know. I mean Abbie is extremely hot, don't get me wrong, but you, you work out. All that softball and running and working out you do…mmm. See, Abbie is tall and slender, but you? You're tall and thin, but you have muscles. I like a woman who is able to take care of me."

"Yeah, well unfortunately for you, I belong to your best friend." Casey states flatly as she continues to back up some more. Unfortunately for her, she moves a bit too far and she finds herself tumbling down onto the couch, giving Serena the perfect opportunity to straddle her waist.

"Whoa, there we go with the touchy thing again." She continues on, blinking rapidly. To be completely honest, Casey would never once bring herself to hurt another woman and she's just simply not a violent person. That would also mean that she has to touch Serena, which is something she really doesn't want to do, so as of right now, verbal bargaining seems to be her only option. And unfortunately her only option seems to be failing.

Serena giggles again as she scoots further into the redhead's lap and drapes her arms over her shoulders. "There, now isn't this comfy?"

"Listen, I'm gonna give you to the count of three to move, alright? Then you can just put your clothes on and leave, okay? One…two…" Before Casey can even get to three, she feels herself being abruptly pulled into a firm kiss.

"What the hell?"

Because she has little to no room or time to protest against the kiss, she nearly has a heart attack when she hears the voice of another in the living room and she would recognize that voice anywhere. Her eyes spring open and she flattens herself against the sofa as Serena skillfully slides off of her lap, leaving her wide eyed, fearful, as she pants for the air that she just can't seem to find, all the while having a pair of angry blue eyes shift between her and Serena at a rapid place.

"Alex, I…I-I can explain."

**You know, I honestly can't see Casey physically putting her hands on another woman in the sense of this case here. Even if she needed to get a certain seductress away from her, I can't see her using physical force like this. Anyhow, chapter started out pretty uneventful, but I think it kinda picked up at the end heh, leave your thoughts! **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I probably shouldn't be up right now, but I am…and this happened. Enjoy!**

"Alex, I…I-I can explain."

"Go in the kitchen Casey." Alex responds flatly as she glares deathly holes into the blonde who is working to replace her discarded clothing.

Casey swallows thickly and simply moves back further into the sofa as she makes no motion to move at all. "Alex, I-"

"Go in the kitchen."

"O-okay." The redhead stammers as she quickly gets off of the couch and nearly trips over her own feet as she practically runs into the kitchen.

Alex stares after her fiancée before her eyes snap back to Serena who is now standing and looking at her with an all too smug expression for her liking. "Well you really have some nerve." She begins, folding her arms tightly as she attempts to keep her temper in check. "How did you get in here."

"Casey let me in." Serena answers with a nonchalant shrug as she has better things to do like examine her fingernails than to have this conversation right now.

"Wrong answer, try again. How did you get in here?"

"Honestly Alexandra, don't show your ignorance. Not here at least. I already told you, Casey let me in. In fact, she practically begged me to come over."  
At this, Alex snorts and simply shakes her head. "You really are pathetic, you know that? You really expect me to believe everything that just came out of your mouth? How about you don't show your ignorance? I'm not stupid Serena, and I know what game you play."

Serena raises an eyebrow as a smirk tugs at the corner of her lips. "And pray tell, since you think that you know so much, what game is that? Because from my perspective, there isn't any type of game at all, only reality."

"As I said before, I'm not stupid and I am most definitely not a pushover. You may have been able to get to Kim, but I'll be damned if I let you get to me. So I suggest that we do this the easy way and you get the hell out of my house before I drag you out by your hair."

"When are you ever going to face it, Alex? You feel threatened by me. Isn't that how it's always been? Ever since we were kids? You've always felt like I was a threat to your popularity and your social status. That's why you and Kim always excluded me from everything, am I right?"

At this, Alex narrows her eyes and she immediately shakes her head in confusion. "I honestly have no idea of what you're talking about."

Serena scoffs and rolls her eyes before her glare returns in full force. "Don't play dumb with me Alex, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You know that everything has always been about you and Kim; you two have made sure of that. I was always the one who was excluded from everything and left behind. Do you even know what that feels like? To have best friends that don't even care about you?"

"So that's why you're doing all of this? Because you're jealous?"

"Oh I'm not jealous. I'm far from it. I just think that it's time people start paying attention to me and I want the two of you to realize that I can be just as good as the both of you combined, if not better. I'm done living in the shadow of your overgrown ego."

Alex snorts mirthlessly as she shakes her head. "I hate to break it to you honey, but that sounds a lot like jealousy. I already told you, you can mess with Kim and get away with it, but I'm not going to let you get away with messing with me. Don't be stupid Serena. The best thing you can do for yourself right now is leave, before I make you leave."

Serena raises an eyebrow as a sinister chuckle escapes her lips. "You think you're so intimidating." She hums as she saunters over to the taller woman, staring her dead in the eyes. "I'm not afraid of you Alex. That's one thing you get off on, huh? On making people afraid of you? Well, I hate to disappoint you, but you don't scare me. I've got better things to do than to stand here and listen to your empty, pathetic threats." She trails off as she strides towards the door, but not before casting a look over her shoulder. "Tell Casey I'll be calling her later."

"If I even see your number show up anywhere here near, you'll be sorry."

Serena winks in response before she slips out of the apartment without so much as another word.

Alex, who by now is fuming, lets out a scream of frustration as she resists the urge to throw something at the door. She folds her arms tightly across her chest as she sets about pacing the living room and muttering angrily to herself.

Casey hesitantly pokes her head out of the kitchen as she spots her fiancée vibrantly pacing the length of the living room. "Um, A-Alex?" she calls out, clearing her throat when she finds her voice to be unnecessarily squeaky. When she doesn't receive a response, she slowly creepy into the living room to where she is in Alex's line of vision. "Baby?"

Alex stops pacing and stares harshly at the woman standing before her. "What was she doing here?"

"I-I don't know she just…she just showed up." Casey responds, nervously rubbing at the back of her neck. "I-I didn't invite her over I promise. She just came in and she was…she…Alex, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let her in. I-I don't know why I did but I promise that she came on to me. I love you so much and we're getting married and I swear that I would never ever cheat on you with anyone."

"I know…" Alex responds with a heavy sigh after a long moment of silence. "Just the fact that she was in here touching you bothered the hell out of me. I trust you completely Casey and I know you wouldn't cheat on me, but it's Serena that I don't trust."

* * *

Kim nervously swallows thickly as she continues to wring her hands while she is waiting in the hallway outside of the large conference room. Her leg bounces up and down repeatedly as she continues to glance at her watch; the time clicking by all to quickly but at the same time, far too slow for her liking.

"Have you gone in yet?"

Kim looks up from her focused spot on the floor to find Emily standing next to her. "Hey, um, no, I haven't…" she responds before her eyes narrow in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

For a moment the agent looks slightly bashfully before she awkwardly shuffles her feet. "Um, I remember you said that you had your meeting today and I wanted to be here just in case you needed someone…I can go if you want me to, I just thought…"

"You don't have to go." Kim responds quietly before she sits back against the bench and lets her head rest against the wall. "You don't have to leave. I appreciate you being here."

"No problem." Emily replies as she takes a seat next to the attorney on the bench. She lets the silence settle comfortably between the two of them before she turns and studies Kim for a moment. "Are you scared?"

Kim frowns at the question for a moment before letting her shoulders slump. "Terrified." She admits, taking a much needed deep breath. "All I've ever known was law. My dad was a police commissioner, and my mom was a district attorney. Even as a young child, I knew what it was I wanted to do, you know? I wanted to follow in my parents footsteps. So…when I finally had to decide on a major, I chose law. I grew up wanted to be a lawyer because I felt like lawyers a really the one who make the real differences in the world. You know? Kind of the heroes behind the scenes? All of the kids I knew as a child, they wanted to be something spectacular; doctor, police officer, fireman, but I was the only one in my class that said she wanted to be a lawyer. Some kids at that age didn't even know what that was, but I knew. When Mom was an ADA, I'd go to work with her and I'd just sit and read through her law books. I just…I wanted to make a difference, you know? Now here I am wondering if any given moment now, I'm going to be told that I can't do that anymore. Its nerve wracking, just waiting for the outcome of your future."

"It'll be okay." Emily tries to reassure with an encouraging smile.

"Miss Greylek?" A man questions as he pokes his head out of the conference room. "They're ready for you."

Kim nods and stands up, smoothing her hands over her skirt. "Thank you." she responds shakily, before taking another deep breath, feeling as if her heart is about to pound out of her chest. "I guess this is it."

"Don't worry about it." Emily says, giving Kim's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be right here when you come out; okay?"

Kim nods before she turns around and follows the young man into the room. Once in the room she finds five people; three women, and two men; all seated in a line on one side of the conference table, while a lone chair is seated on the opposite end. Kim swallows the thick lump that has formed in her throat once more as she nervously takes a seat in the chair meant for her.

"Good afternoon Miss Greylek." One of the older women seated in the middle of the group begins as she looks at the attorney over her glasses. "I do believe that you know why you are here?"

"Yes Ma'am, I do." Kim responds respectfully, after having to lick her lips to find the moisture to speak.

"Excellent. Then let us begin."

About an hour and a half later, Emily finds herself pacing back and forth as time slowly begins to tick on. She glances at her watch every minute or so, hoping that more time has passed than just a few seconds, but unfortunately, time is choosing not to be on her side at the moment.

Her pacing is interrupted by a small jolt in her pocket and she pulls out her phone, not even bothering to look at the ID. "Prentiss."

"Wow. Hello to you too sunshine." JJ's skeptic voice arises through the other end of the call. "Why so snappy?"

"Sorry. I didn't look to see who was calling before I answered it." The older agent responds as she closes her eyes. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you were free to have a movie night later. I'm not doing anything and I just realized that I'm pretty bored."

"Sorry Jayje…but I can't. I'm in New York right now."

"New York? Why are you in New York?" JJ asks before it suddenly dawns on her. "Oooh, I see."

"You see?" Emily repeats, frowning at her phone as if it will give her the answers. "What do you see?"

"You're spending time with Kim." JJ replies with clear and obvious innuendo and suggestion in her tone.

Emily closes her eyes and furrows her brow as she shakes her head. "No, JJ, stop. It's not even like that. Kim and I…we're just friends."

"Just friends, huh? Do you wanna be more than friends?"

"She's not ready. She's…she's going through a lot right now and right now, I'm just trying to be here for her."

JJ coos which in turn causes Emily to roll her eyes drastically. "Awww, that's super cute. Look at you, being all caring. It's adorable. Well, I guess I'll let you get back to your love fest."

"Jennifer…"

"Relax Em, I'm just kidding. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay, I will…bye." Emily huffs heavily as she hangs up her phone. She loves JJ to death, but sometimes she swears that the young blonde is out to get her for the sake of fun.

She is just about to retake her seat on the bench to keep from pacing when the door to the conference room suddenly opens. All within a matter of seconds, Kim exits and doesn't even bother to glance her direction for her eyes are deadest on getting to the door.

"Whoa, Kim!" the agent calls out as she sprints after her friend. "Kim wait!"

Out on the street, Emily finally manages to catch up, pulling the other woman to her right as a cab hops the curb; which would have hit her had she actually made it to the corner. "What happened?" she asks, as she realizes the tears pouring down Kim's face.

"I've lost everything." Kim whispers, her voice cracking with shameful emotion as her sobs begin to overtake her. "I've lost one of my best friends, my relationship, my Mom, and now I've lost my job. I-I've lost everything."

"I'm so sorry." Emily whispers back as she places a soft kiss to Kim's hair and holds her close. Never in her life has she really had feelings for someone like this, and never has she had to share someone's pain like this; but at this moment, she wishes she could take all of Kim's pain away. At this moment, she wishes she could put it on herself.

**I sent an email to support and they fixed it and now Kim's name is spelled right! I'm probably the only one who cares and noticed but it's a personal victory! Anyway, leave your thoughts? **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: This chapter is a little intense and sad and mysterious all at the same time. Hmmm enjoy!**

Kim wears a mask of neutrality as she stands in the center of the room and continues to delicately place her personal items into cardboard items. Despite her hard stony expression, her hands shake uncontrollably as she picks up the nameplate on her desk and places it inside the box which is soon followed by typical office supplies; stapler, paper clip holder, post-it notes, etc.

Her heart sinks when she comes across her personal photos, and she can't bring herself to look at them, even as her hand involuntarily reaches out to them. The first one is of her, her mother, and her sisters, a typical Greylek family photo where maybe one person is smiling while the others settle on making faces of annoyance at the others in the picture.

The next photo is a photo taken of her and Abbie on one of their first dates where Abbie had forcefully dragged her ice skating. A small chuckle escapes from her lips as she recalls that day where she had fallen more times than she can ever remember doing so in her entire lifetime. She remembers a particular incident where she was struggling so badly to simply stay on her feet, she grabbed onto the nearest thing for stability, and unfortunately for her, the nearest thing was Abbie which resulted in her pulling her date down onto the ice with her. That was also the very first time Abbie had kissed her.

Kim's hands continue to shake violently, and on impulse, she throws the framed photo across the room, watching it smash violently against the opposite wall with an echoing crash. She stands completely still for a moment before she crosses the room and picks up the shattered frame before she carefully plucks the photo from the glass. She dumps the frame in the trash bin before she makes her way back to her boxes and carefully places the photo in a random page in one of her law books.

"Where are you going?"

The typically expressionless woman is slightly startled by the spontaneous voice appearing in the room. She looks up towards the doorway where she finds the other half from hr photo lingering in the doorway wearing a confused expression. "What's it matter to you…" she murmurs, before returning to her cleaning duty.

Abbie bites the inside of her cheek as she carefully watches her ex put all of her things into a cardboard box. "I…well, you're here pretty early and you're in here putting all of your things in boxes, I just thought…"

"I thought it would be easier to get this done if I got here before everyone else did so I wouldn't have any problems moving stuff." Kim responds in a clipped fashion before she pauses and grips the ends of her now full box. "And if you must know where I'm going; I got fired."

"F-fired?" Abbie echoes as her eyes widen in shock, fully taking in the near emptiness of Kim's office for the first time. "What? What do you mean you got fired? How? What happened?"

Kim rolls her eyes before she huffs and turns towards the other woman with a look of displeasure on her face. "You know what fired means don't you? It means I don't work here anymore." She sneers before she continues on with malice. "Not only did I get fired, but they disvalued my license. As of right now, I've been officially disbarred and I really don't know what I'm supposed to do with my life."

Abbie's mouth falls open in silence for a long moment before she is finally able to find words. "Kim, I…I really don't know what to say right now." She says sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Really? You're asking me if there's anything you can do as if you suddenly care about me? What about when I actually needed you Abbie? Where were you when I needed someone when I was told my mom died? Oh yes, I remember, you were in bed with my best friend. That's where you were."

"Kim, I'm sorry…I-"

"Sorry really can't fix anything now, Abigail. It really can't. When I really needed you, you weren't there for me. Well, I don't need you anymore. So you can just go on about your perfect life that you always wanted without me in it."

Abbie purses her lips tightly before she sighs quietly and hangs her head. "At least let me help you clear out your things." She offers before she gives her former lover a pleading look. "Please?"

Kim rolls her eyes once again before she shakes her head. "Fine." She relents, far too tired to continue this particular argument. "You can start cleaning off my shelves."

Abbie nods her head before she cautiously proceeds into the office and begins to carefully place the books on the shelves into the boxes. She risks a glance over her shoulder when she hears that Kim has fallen silent, and she finds her staring down at another photo.

"Kim, are you alright?" she asks carefully, not wanting to startle her for a second time in the past five minutes. "Kim?"

"I'm fine." Kim responds shakily as she quickly raises her arm to wipe at her eyes with her sleeve before anything out of the ordinary can be noticed.

Abbie simply nods quietly in response before she turns back to the task given to her. Once she's finished placing the books in the cardboard boxes, her attention is then turned to the wall. "What do you want me to do with your degree?" she asks, in reference to the framed certificate hanging on the wall.

Kim snorts at this before she shakes her head and spins around to gaze at the now worthless piece of paper mocking her from the wall. "To be completely honest, you could probably throw it in the trash." She mutters as she plucks the frame off of the wall and haphazardly tosses it into the box containing all of her framed items. "The trash is probably where it belongs anyway."

"Don't say that." Abbie says firmly as she spins around abruptly. "I don't know what happened to where you got disbarred, but it wasn't fair. You're a great lawyer and I'm sure that whatever this is will blow over and you'll get your job back. You deserve it more than others do…" she trails off quietly.

Kim is silent for a long moment with her lips pursed into a tight, thin line, before she sighs quietly and looks away. "What happened to us Abbie?"

"I messed up…" the taller woman admits quietly as she hands her head and rubs at the back of her neck. "I messed up.

**Meanwhile…**

"Darla, if you tell the jury what he did to you, he won't be able to hurt you again." Casey says sympathetically to the teen on the witness stand, albeit hoarsely as she attempts to fight through the cold that has been plaguing her since three days prior.

She had an argument with Alex earlier in the morning with the blonde stating that she would take over the case while Casey stayed home and got some rest. But being the ever more persistent, Casey denied being sick before she managed to fall out of bed and fumble through her morning routine all the while listening to Alex rant about her health.

The teen on the stand, simply continues to nervously wring her hands as her eyes dart rapidly between the prosecutor and her stepfather who is glaring at her from the defense table. "I…" she begins, but trails off as she ducks her head in shame as she wills her body not to cry.

"Take your time." Casey gently presses on, frowning when a serious of violent coughs begin to take over her body. Just as she is sure she is done, the coughs come more fiercely, leaving her throat burning and her lungs screaming in pain.

"Miss Novak, is there a problem?" Judge Petrovsky asks in her typically bland manner, though there is concern on her face as she leans forward in her chair. "Miss Novak?"

Casey simply waves her hand and shakes her head before she clutches her chest and takes a much needed deep breath. "I'm fine." She croaks, wheezing a little. "I'm fine. Darla, please tell the jury what you told me."

Darla opens her mouth to confidently respond before her face morphs into slight fear. "Miss Novak, you're bleeding."

"What?"

"You're bleeding."

Casey presses her hand to her face and pulls it away, her eyes widening in horror when she finds her hand stained with the familiar red liquid. Just then, her coughs hit her with full force and she recognizes the metallic taste of blood that appears in her mouth as it splutters all over her shirt and clothing as her violent coughs and hacks continue. Everything seems to happen in slow motion as Casey's eyes roll back in her head and she collapses heavily on the floor before her body erupts into violent convulsions.

From the audience in the courtroom, Olivia's eyes widen as she stands from her seat and jumps the barricade, sprinting over to where the attorney is sprawled out on the floor. Her heart rate increases as she yells for Amanda to call an ambulance while she places her hands on Casey's arm to keep her still. "C'mon Case, it's gonna be alright."

"She's having a seizure," Petrovsky states quickly, having moved down from the judge's bench as she places the attorney's head in her lap. "You must keep her head elevated because there is risk that she will swallow her tongue. Has this happened before, Detective?"

Olivia, who is stunned by the judge's spontaneous act of worry, blinks dumbly before she shakes her head. "No, Ma'am. At least not that I know of." She responds, wincing as her friend's body continues to violently shake as blood mixed with saliva continues to pour out the corner of her mouth. "Where is those damned medics."

The paramedics burst through the doors of the courtroom, shouting for everyone to make room as they get the stretcher ready. As they do their job and load Casey onto the stretcher, Olivia stands from the floor and pulls out her cell phone, wondering what the hell she's going to tell Alex.

As all of this is happening, in the chaos, no one takes note of the blonde watching from the very back corner of the courtroom. A smirk tugs at the corner of her lips as she places her sunglasses over her eyes and stealthily slips out of the courtroom, going completely unnoticed.

* * *

Kim sits on the floor with her back against her living room wall as she continues to dink whiskey straight from the bottle. Whiskey has never exactly been her drink of choice and she can count on one hand the number of times she's actually been drunk, but with no job and no life she now feels like she has a reason to enjoy herself for a little while.

Unfortunately for her, she has forgotten what drinking hard liquor does to her as the tears pour down her cheeks continuously. She grabs the bottle by its neck and takes another deep swig before letting her head thump hard against the wall.

"You're a mess, Kimberly." She groans aloud before her tears continue, though whether or not she feels them, she isn't entirely sure.

In an act of complete vulnerability and complete numbness, Kim stands on wobbly legs and crosses her apartment to where her phone is resting on the floor by the window where she had haphazardly tossed it when she had first got home.

She stumbles to her phone and collapses onto the floor once again before pulling the device to her. She fumbles with her passcode for a moment before she manages to unlock the phone and navigate her way to her contacts. Her finger hovers over a particular number for a moment with a large amount of hesitation before her impulses force her to press the screen to make the call. She brings the phone to her ear, listening to it ring before her heart stops when the voice on the other line interrupts the fifth ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey…" Kim croaks, dragging a hand through her tangled hair.

"Kim?" the surprised voice on the other end responds. "What's the matter? Are you hurt?"

"N-No, I…" the brunette pauses as she takes a deep breath only for a strangled sob to escape her lips. "I-I really need someone right now, I…can you come over? Please?"

"Of course. I'm on my way."

**Ooo, mystery phone call. Leave your thoughts? **


End file.
